Marvin Wadlow Jr. remembers sitting in the front seat of a 15-person van while track coach Mike Keller drove.
The 1981 Vandal track and field team was traveling to Boise for a meet. The other 13 players in the back of the van were asleep. He looked out the window and admired the view. Blue sky. Both mountains and valleys. This is why he chose to attend school in Idaho.
The coach looked at him and said: “Marvin, you are truly blessed. You are so lucky to be able to attend school here.”
At the time, Wadlow didn't understand the impact and meaning of that simple sentence. He was still a young man in his 20s, trying to get his degree and trying to win. But fast forward to 2024, and Wadlow has come to terms with the impact that his anecdote had on his life. Four decades after he competed as a triple jumper at the University of Idaho, Wadlow read a news story about Vandal and his volleyball team. He saw the headline and his heart broke.
Wadlow read a Dec. 30 article in the Orange County Register detailing the abuse the current Vandals allegedly suffered at the hands of head volleyball coach Chris Gonzalez.
Wadlow ran next to a future Olympian and an Idaho Athletic Hall of Famer. His 1981 track and field team went down in history. Fellow Olympians, Hall of Famers, and track and field pioneers (approximately 250 athletes) united with Mr. Wadlow to talk to President Scott Greene and his Director of Athletics Terry Gawlik about his current Vandal volleyball team. I wrote a letter (see letter on page 13).
Wadlow said none of his 250 team members can sit idly by and watch fraud happen. They wanted to have a voice. They wanted their volleyball team to feel the support of fellow Vandals across the country and around the world. Mr Wadlow said supporters of the letter have come from as far away as Jamaica, Ghana and South Africa. He stressed that the players' support has reached farther than he imagined.
Wadlow's son, an all-state volleyball player in California who is currently pursuing a semi-professional career in Italy, has been immersed in the world of volleyball for decades. He remembers watching the Vandals' losing record get worse and worse — a record. He watched his players bow their heads, showing no joy or confidence.
“When the article came out, I just cried. No wonder they lost,” Wadlow said. “When I read that, I just cried.”
Wadlow said there were times when he hated practice, times when he hated his coaches and times when he fought with teammates. But because of the foundational layer of trust, camaraderie, and respect that Keller implemented, his team still flourished.
“There were emotional times. We fought verbally and sometimes even physically. But even with people I didn't like, we still loved each other.” ,” Wadlow said.
Wadlow said her heart aches for current volleyball players. He said times are going to be difficult when you're a college athlete, but that shouldn't lead to abuse. Wadlow reiterated that everyone in his life has wondered why he chose to attend school in Idaho. They wondered why he would choose a school so culturally different from his life in California. His father was the most skeptical of them all.
But Wadlow recalled one track and field meet at Kibby Dome. Reporters surrounded the truck. The dome was filled with flashing lights. Mr. Wadlow stood in front of the camera and gave an interview. He paused the interview to give a young fan an autograph. When Wadlow looked up from the papers he had signed, he saw his father lying in his stand. His father, diagnosed with colon cancer, was dying slowly.
“I remember after that game my dad said, 'I was wrong.'” They treat you like a king. You made the right choice,” Wadlow said.
Wadlow never regretted his choice to join UI. Moscow became his homeland. His teammates became his family. He said it's almost unbelievable to Wadlow that even though they went to the same school and lived in the same town, they have diametrically opposed experiences on their current volleyball teams.
“It's scary to think about the girls who are emotionally broken. They have to carry the burden of coming forward, of being scared. All the pressure is on them, not on him (Gonzalez). “This is a memory of when they were Vandals,” Wadlow said. “When I think about them, I cry.”
Wadlow, along with 250 other athletes coached by Keller, came together and unanimously decided to become an outspoken supporter of the volleyball team. He called for the firing of Chris Gonzalez, saying, “Go experience grace and do it elsewhere. Don't tarnish the experience of these young people.”
“Our strength is 250 Vandals. We are with them. No matter what happens, we will support them,” Wadlow said, fighting back tears. “We respect them. We respect them. We protect them.”
Joanna Hayes can be contacted at: [email protected]
