Debate champ sues James Fishback, Incubate Debate over $8K in unpaid scholarship money

A former national champion in the youth debate league founded by James Fishback is suing the Republican candidate for Governor and his nonprofit, claiming they still owe her $8,000 in scholarship money first promised in 2023.

Briana Whatley, a Broward County resident who competed in Incubate Debate during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, filed the small claims suit in Broward County on July 27.

That’s the same day a Leon County judge kept Fishback on the ballot by rejecting a residency challenge from rival candidate Jay Collins, which centered on Fishback’s voter registration in two states.

The new suit names Incubate Foundation Inc., which does business as Incubate Debate, and Fishback individually. It alleges breach of contract against the foundation and fraud in the inducement against both.

Whatley won $11,000 in scholarships over her two seasons: $500 as Incubate South Incubator of the Year, $500 as the 2024 Incubate Fall SE Champion and $10,000 for winning the 2024 Incubate Debate National Championship.

An award letter from Incubate’s Program Director, dated March 28, 2023, promised the money would be paid “on the day of your high school graduation.”

Whatley graduated May 30, 2025. The complaint says she emailed Incubate twice that June asking about the funds and heard nothing back.

After she hired a lawyer, Fishback texted her that “Scholarships above $10k are paid out in semester increments” and said installments had “always been the case.” The award letter makes no mention of installments.

Fishback also told Whatley he didn’t write the letter and hadn’t seen it until her lawyer sent it to him. “The individual who wrote it was fired from Incubate Debate,” he texted.

The suit says Fishback “personally evaded and defrauded Plaintiff by initially ignoring communications, later blaming a terminated employee for the written award terms, falsely claiming an unwritten ‘installment policy,’ and delaying payment for months.”

It’s not the first time court documents have produced unflattering reading for the candidate. Filings in the residency case showed Fishback used fake accounts and paid engagement to shape online coverage of his campaign.

Text messages filed with the complaint show Fishback asking for Whatley’s bank information in October, then asking her to resend it in late November. “I totally dropped the ball on this,” he wrote.

In December, he directed an associate to send her a first installment of $3,000 via Zelle.

The next payment was scheduled for Feb. 1. When Whatley followed up the next morning, Fishback replied that “Feb. 1 was a Sunday” and “We don’t work on Sundays,” adding, “Good morning to you too.”

Fishback then asked whether Whatley had sent proof of her college enrollment. She provided it, per the complaint, and heard nothing more.

“Hello? It’s been sent to Alex. I’ve been left on read,” she texted Feb. 20. Since then, the suit says, both defendants have “completely ceased communication.”

Whatley is asking for the $8,000 balance plus interest, court costs and attorney’s fees. Hollywood attorney Ralph Kenol represents her.

Fishback founded Incubate Debate, which runs no-cost tournaments for students statewide, and the organization featured heavily in his biography when he launched his campaign in November.

He is running a long-shot bid in the Aug. 18 Republican Primary, where U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, backed by President Donald Trump, is the clear front-runner. A recent poll put Donalds at 54% among likely Primary voters, while Fishback has registered in the low single digits and his fundraising has continued to flounder.

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Ed. note: This story was drafted with assistance from AI. Editorial judgment, sourcing, and final review were performed by Peter Schorsch and the Florida Politics editorial team.