Ex-Idaho athletic director Spear accuses ex-president Staben of ‘smear campaign’

Former University of Idaho Athletic Director Rob Spear alleges in a lawsuit that Chuck Staben, the school’s president from 2014 to 2019, launched a “smear campaign” that ultimately led to Spear’s termination.

According to court documents, Spear alleges Staben retaliated against him because he had voiced concerns to several people about derogatory remarks Staben was said to have made toward women, and the unreasonable budget parameters Staben purportedly placed on the athletic department, advocating cuts to U of I’s women’s sports programs.

The lawsuit, filed in February in Latah County 2nd District Court, included defendants Staben, “Jane Doe” Staben and the university itself.

Spear, now employed with the Idaho Falls Auditorium District, alleged that U of I violated his employment agreement by failing to pay out his contract properly, and the school hadn’t protected him from being “wrongfully” terminated.

The university, after denying the majority of claims, settled with Spear on an offer of judgment in April for $94,757, plus attorney fees.

University spokeswoman Jodi Walker said the offer of judgment admits no wrongdoing.

Walker told the Idaho Statesman the settlement resolves only the action against the university.

The portion of the case involving Spear and Staben appears to be ongoing.

Staben and his attorney, Bentley G. Stromberg, of Lewiston, filed an answer to Spear’s complaint on Aug. 14, denying accusations against Staben. Spear is represented by Kelly Konkright, of Spokane. Spear and Staben each declined to comment. The Tribune attempted to reach their attorneys, but did not hear back.

Staben remains a tenured faculty member on an annual contract at the school of biology.

Staben’s defense, in the court documents, states Spear failed to meet a number of legal tenants, and that the plaintiff’s claims are baseless. As such, Staben is requesting his attorney fees be paid.

Spear’s claim for wages

The State Board terminated Spear’s contract for “convenience” in August 2018 rather than for cause, meaning Spear would be paid for the rest of his contract through Feb. 17, 2020, at $196,958 per year. If Spear took a lower-paying job, that amount would be deducted from the $196,958 owed him.

Spear became the executive director of the Idaho Falls Auditorium District in April 2019, a job that would pay him $100,000 a year, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. That meant Idaho still owed Spear $96,958 a year.

Spear said he informed Idaho of his new job on three occasions, but the university stopped making payments to him. Spear says the university agreed to resume payments after eight months but did not pay damages related to the lost wages.

The university claimed in its response that Spear did not promptly report all the terms of his new job, “which relieved the university to perform any of its obligations under the contract.”

What the Spear-Staben case file shows

The new budget parameters Staben allegedly advocated for “would require Dr. Spear to make cuts to (Idaho’s) women’s sports programs that would result in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,” reads the suit, which adds that the cuts could have jeopardized U of I’s Division I status.

“During the course of 2017 and early 2018,” the court document reads, Staben allegedly engaged in conduct that was offensive and in violation of the laws against gender discrimination.

“In other words,” the court document states, “female university employees were subjected to defendant Staben — the ultimate decision-maker regarding their employment — referring to women in extremely derogatory, offensive and hostile terms.”

According to the court documents, Spear said he expressed his concerns to three Idaho State Board of Education members in October-November 2017, indicating he feared Staben’s “vulgarity in President Cabinet meetings, specifically in the presence of females, may result in a female filing a hostile work environment claim.”

Spear says he worried Staben might retaliate

Spear allegedly told State Board members that he was worried Staben might retaliate.

Staben allegedly still pushed for budget cuts afterward and continued to make derogatory remarks toward women, the suit says.

In January 2018, according to the court documents, Spear told a U of I Title IX officer about the issues, but said no one from the university responded to the complaint. The suit alleges Staben became aware of the complaints and launched “a campaign of retaliation against Dr. Spear.”

The court documents go on to list alleged events that led up to Spear’s termination by the State Board of Education on Aug. 16, 2018.

In February 2018, Spear said Staben denied his market-based salary increase, despite being eligible and receiving a positive performance evaluation the previous year, according to the court files.

Diver’s sexual assault charge against football player

On April 3, 2018, Spear was placed on administrative leave, pending an investigation into an allegation of a 2013 sexual assault, brought by former U of I diver Mairin Jameson against a former football player.

On April 10, 2018, Staben — speaking about the school’s athletics budget — told reporters he “didn’t realize the athletic department at large wasn’t aware of the budget dilemma.” Spear alleges in the court documents that Staben instructed him by email in November 2017 to not communicate proposed budget changes or other budget matters to the department.

“By withholding the fact that defendant Staben instructed Dr. Spear to not disclose the information, defendant Staben created the defamatory impression that the athletic department was not aware of the budget issues as a result of Dr. Spear’s — and not defendant Staben’s — actions.”

In spring 2018, U of I authorized an independent investigation into the sexual assault accusation. In mid-May, according to the court documents, Staben sent emails to the State Board “containing several false statements about Dr. Spear,” including that he was “deficient in raising funds.” Spear’s suit argues he was tabbed an effective fundraiser in his performance evaluation.

In May 2018, Staben told media members that Spear didn’t follow U of I policy in 2013 — that he didn’t report the allegation to U of I’s Title IX officer, “falsely insinuating that Dr. Spear was solely responsible for how (U of I) responded to the 2013 sexual assault complaint.”

The university settled a lawsuit filed by the former diver, Mairin Jameson, for $160,000 earlier this year.

State Board made the final decision

Spear, in the court file, alleges Staben omitted the following: Spear immediately reported the allegation to the President’s Office then (under a previous president); at least two other staffers were aware of the situation, but didn’t report it; Title IX originally applied only to on-campus incidents, and the policy was confusing, lacked sufficient training, and employees were generally unaware of revisions made to it in 2012.

“Withholding such facts created the defamatory impression that Dr. Spear — not (U of I) — was primarily responsible for the revised policy not being adhered to in connection with the 2013 incident,” the suit reads.

In mid-July 2018, Staben asked to meet privately with the State Board regarding Spear’s employment, according to the suit. Staben confirmed he gave input in early August, the court document said.

In late July, the independent investigation was released. It concluded the policy was confusing and not adequately communicated and criticized U of I and Spear, but noted vast improvements to the policy since 2013, as well as other actions Spear took — encouraging Jameson to press charges, ensuring proper Title IX training for staff members and removing the football player.

In the court document, it’s purported that Staben again told the media afterward that Spear didn’t follow policy or support the victim. Two weeks later, Spear was removed “ ‘for convenience’ based on (Staben’s) false and misleading statements regarding Dr. Spear,” according to the court document.

The State Board of Education made the decision to fire Spear after Staben recused himself, citing a conflict of interest, the State Board said in a statement at the time.

Spear alleges Staben used his position of power to remove him for engaging in protected activity, like whistle-blowing, and that Spear lost wages and his reputation was maligned.

Michael Lycklama of the Idaho Statesman contributed.