University of Idaho volleyball Head Coach Chris Gonzalez has been placed on paid administrative leave as of 10 a.m. today.
Athletic Director Terry Gawlik and OCRI director Jackie Wernz informed the volleyball team today that Gonzalez was placed on administrative leave, according to a recording of the meeting provided by a volleyball player. Gawlik told the team that Gonzalez is on leave, but that the investigation is still ongoing.
Gonzalez was under investigation for alleged physical, mental, emotional and verbal abuse by UI’s Office for Civil Rights and Investigations. The four complainants and Gonzalez received the preliminary report today, according to current Idaho volleyball player Emma Patterson.
“At 10 o’clock this morning Chris Walsh and I notified coach Gonzalez said he is on administrative leave. What that means is nothing is finalized. This is just a preliminary measure as a part of the process,” Gawlik said in the recording. “He was given a copy of the OCRI report. His copy of the report and the investigation is still ongoing. So, we can’t really discuss the OCRI part now. Anybody that had been a part of the filing of the OCRI will get their own report.”
The team will continue to practice, according to the recording. Practices will be run by assistant coaches Maria Logan and Romana Redondo Kriskova. Case manager Beth Ropski will still be attending all practices. Players who chose to opt out of practice under Gonzalez have the choice to return to practice.
Gawlik said, however, those players will not be able to join in some of the drills since they are at a different training level than those who have been practicing. While Gonzalez was running practices, only six players chose to attend, all of whom were international players. The other five players on the spring roster have not been practicing for more than two months.
“I realize that this has been incredibly difficult for everyone in our volleyball program this year, and none of us ever want a team or student athlete to go through what you guys have gone through or are going through,” Gawlik said in the recording. “So please know that we all care about you, and that we’re all here to help and we’re here to answer questions and everybody in the room is here to support you.”
Now that the preliminary report has been given to both Gonzalez and the four complainants, there is a response period, typically 10 days, in which either party can respond, UI Executive Director of Communications Jodi Walker said in a March 6 email to the Argonaut.
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Walker said, “We expect this investigation to be finalized in the coming weeks and President Green will determine what steps will be taken to resolve this issue.”
Joanna Hayes can be reached at [email protected]