31岁的詹姆斯·菲什巴克因拖欠高中辩论冠军布里亚娜·沃特利的奖学金而被起诉。[1]沃特利在菲什巴克创办的Incubate Debate联赛中获得全国冠军和地区冠军奖项，共计赢得11000美元奖学金。[1]根据诉状，菲什巴克仅支付了3000美元，拖欠8000美元未付。[1]
原始奖励信承诺在沃特利于2024年5月高中毕业当天全额支付奖学金。[1]菲什巴克在2025年11月的短信中承认"完全搞砸了这件事"。[1]菲什巴克辩称原始奖励信是由已被解雇的员工发出，并主张分期付款一直都是规定，尽管之前未提及此事。[1]案件已提交布劳沃德县小额诉讼法院，预审会议定于2025年9月9日进行。[1]
菲什巴克现为佛罗里达州长竞选候选人，将在8月18日初选中挑战美国众议员拜伦·唐纳德和副州长杰伊·柯林斯争取共和党提名。[1]
A Florida high school debate champion is pursuing legal action against James Fishback, a far-right Republican candidate for governor, over an unpaid scholarship.[1] Briana Whatley won national and regional championships through the Incubate Debate league founded by Fishback and was promised a total of $11,000 in scholarships—$10,000 for the national title and $500 for each of two regional awards.[1] However, Fishback has only paid $3,000 of the amount owed, leaving Whatley short $8,000.[1]
The dispute centers on the timing and terms of the scholarship payment. According to Whatley's complaint, the original scholarship letter promised full payment "on the day of high school graduation" in May 2024.[1] Fishback, now 31 years old, sent $3,000 via Zelle in December 2025 but has not paid the remainder.[1] When confronted in November 2025, Fishback acknowledged in a text message that he had "completely dropped the ball on this one," though he later claimed that a now-former employee issued the original scholarship letter and asserted that installment payments had always been the policy—a contention not mentioned in earlier communications.[1]
The case has been filed in small claims court in Broward County, Florida, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for September 9, 2025.[1] Fishback is currently campaigning for the Republican nomination for Florida governor, challenging U.S. Representative Byron Donalds and Lieutenant Governor Jay Collinsworth ahead of the August 18 primary.[1]