Mute for nearly three months, Shannon Garbiso is no longer tongue-tied about her role in investigating a Sept. 20 altercation involving first-year head coach Mike Locksley and former wide receivers coach J.B. Gerald.
The Athletics representative, who did the initial inquiry into the incident, denied a Daily Lobo report in which a former UNM colleague and decade-long friend, Maria Garcia, claimed Garbiso’s job was in jeopardy.
Garbiso, who declined a phone interview, said in an e-mail that Garcia portrayed the information she shared with her in the wrong light.
“I feel that friends do not take notes during conversations, nor do they speak to reporters on your behalf, when I specifically directed her not to,” Garbiso said. “I feel betrayed … This is about someone falsely representing me.”
Point by point, Garbiso contended that she never expressed concerns to former UNM Human Resources Consultant Garcia that her job was in danger, nor was she upset with Vice President of Human Resources Helen Gonzales for the way she was portrayed at a Nov. 3 news conference, in which Gonzales brought up questions about Garbiso’s qualifications to conduct investigations.
“I am not, nor was I, angry with Helen Gonzales or Paul Krebs,” she said. “There is no smear campaign. The assertion that I fear for my job is a flat-out lie. Not once have I felt my employment in athletics has been threatened. I enjoy working for Paul Krebs and very much enjoy the people I work with in the Athletics Department.”
In an interview with the Daily Lobo on Saturday, Garcia — who has a pending unrelated lawsuit against the University for pregnancy discrimination — said she had four phone conversations with Garbiso, in which Garbiso made statements to the contrary.
Monday, Garbiso acknowledged that she spoke with Garcia on Nov. 9 for the first time in nearly a year — but that Garcia called her first. Garcia said she did call Garbiso first and left a voice mail, which Garbiso returned soon after.
Among the most important claims, Garcia said Garbiso told her she did not destroy her notes, and, instead, handed over her notes to Gonzales — an allegation Garbiso disputes.
In clarifying, Garbiso said, “And, (as) has been stated before, I destroyed the notes of my interviews with the assistant coaches. I did this myself.”
When asked why she disposed of her notes, Garbiso responded: “We were gathering information about what happened. It was not an inquiry into an allegation of battery. As we have said all along, my notes were informal and unofficial. They were not sworn statements.”
Her comments stand in stark contrast to Garcia’s, who spoke on behalf of Garbiso, after she said Garbiso was advised to remain silent about everything pertaining to her initial inquiry of the Sept. 20 altercation.
At no point, Garbiso said, did she consider filing a complaint with Human Resources or the Office of Equal Opportunity — something Garcia said the two discussed over the phone.
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Not surprisingly, Garcia said, Garbiso has chosen to deny everything she spoke about. Standing by what she previously stated to the Daily Lobo, Garcia countered that Garbiso did, in fact, voice her dissatisfaction with Gonzales over the phone, all while reiterating that Garbiso feared for her job.
“That she wasn’t angry with Helen is 100 percent false,” Garcia said. “She told me several times that she was angry with Helen. … She doesn’t want to lose her job. That’s what pays her bills. That’s what’s taking care of her and her family. She’s not going to say that it’s going to possibly put her in the line of fire. She has to deny what I’m saying.”
Garcia added that Garbiso is likely being pressured by University officials to discredit her claims.
“I really feel for her,” Garcia said. “I knew there was a huge possibility that she was going to be very angry with me. That isn’t going to hurt my feelings. I know what she said, and she knows what she said. I stand by everything that I told you.
I did not, in any way, try to embellish what she told me. She’s in a seriously sticky position, because not only does she have Krebs, Gonzales and legal and Schmidly telling her you need to write to (the reporter) and tell him that everything that was said is completely untrue. She’s overwhelmed. She’s getting bombarded.”
In their conversations, Garbiso made it explicitly clear to Garcia that she was not to speak to the media on her behalf, she said in an e-mail.
“During our phone conversation, I told Ms. Garcia that she was not allowed to speak for me,” she said. “She does not represent me.”
Conversely, Garcia said that she disclosed to Garbiso that she intended to speak to the media about their conversations, a token Garcia said Garbiso appreciated, because she could not speak to the media herself.
The Daily Lobo contacted Garbiso via e-mail over the weekend about this issue and also on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 seeking comment on the findings of her initial inquiry.
Garbiso was asked to tell her side of the story, but she redirected questions to administration.
“I’ve shared every detail of what I’ve heard and understood to have happened with Paul Krebs and the University’s human resources,” she said in an e-mail. “So if you have further questions, please ask Helen Gonzales, the University’s VP of Human Resources.”
Garcia said Garbiso is in a precarious predicament, and she stands by her friend, no matter what happens.
“We’ve been friends for a really long time,” she said. “And it made me very angry, and it made me hurt for her that … they found it so easy to throw her under the bus.”
Pat Lohmann contributed to this story.
