If not for YouTube, William Shanahan would still be the debate coach at Fort Hays State University and the school would still have an active debate program.
The video of his performance last spring at a tournament in Wichita was a minor sensation on the Internet a few weeks ago. For those who have missed the video and the news stories it generated, Shanahan is the coach who got into a profane extended shouting match with another coach. At one point in the proceedings, Shanahan turned his back on his opponent, bent over and dropped his pants.
In fairness to the Fort Hays coach, it was not a classic mooning — he kept his underwear up.
A few years ago, such an incident would have been swept under the rug, surviving only as a story told by coaches having a round of drinks after a tournament. But the ubiquity of cell phones and digital video cameras, coupled with the worldwide embarrassment mart that is YouTube, caught Shanahan in the act.
The video was posted earlier this month and somebody told the Fort Hays administration, which had not been aware of the incident.
The video was entertaining for people with a tolerance for vulgar language and bad behavior, but not for the administration of Shanahan’s university. Friday, President Edward Hammond announced that Shanahan had been fired and the school’s debate program was being suspended until action has been taken natonally to improve the standards of college debate, which seems to have deteriorated from civilized give-and-take to the level of a bar room brawl.
Is Shanahan being denied his right of free speech? No. As Hammond pointed out, the coach was not at the tournament as a private individual, but as a representative of Fort Hays State.
“Everyone has the right to freedom of speech,” Hammond said, “but these actions are not acceptable for someone who is representing our university.”
So now Shanahan is gone, undone by YouTube and his own bad behavior. He has no one to blame but himself.
If anyone deserves sympathy, it is the Fort Hays debate squad. They were strung up and left hanging by the man who was supposed to be their mentor.
Comments
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Posted by gayzettesux (anonymous) on August 25, 2008 at 4 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's funny that the standards are different for debate coaches and athletic coaches. What this guy did was mild compared to what I've seen some athletic coaches do. I guess the difference is that athletic coaches are expected to act that way. But why? Why shouldn't they be held to the same standards?
Posted by esuhornets (anonymous) on August 25, 2008 at 4:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have never seen an athletic coach do what this guy did. I can't believe the female coach from Pitt State didn't get fired her mouth was worse than his.
Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on August 26, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
esuhornets: You obviously don't watch too many sporting events. What these debate coaches did was deplorable, but compared to what I've seen athletic coaches do and say, their actions were quite mild and their language was middle school mild. How about Bobby Knight, Woody Hayes, Billy Martin, Lou Pinella, and that is just scratching the surface.
Posted by crackinsack (anonymous) on August 26, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's a debate coach's job to teach proper communication. (without resorting to such antics) This is why he was fired. An athletic coach's primary responsibility is to win games; not improve the communication skills of the students. So yes, the expectations are different.
Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on August 26, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm glad they canned him. What kind of example is THAT?!
Posted by esuhornets (anonymous) on August 26, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bj: I never saw Bob Knight drop his pats right in front of an official. I would agree with crackinsack that athletic coaches and debate coach's jobs are different. I don't think the debate coach's job is to make an *ss out of himself or herself and the university that they work for. If William Shanahan was fired don't you think that the female coach from Pitt State should have gotten fired also?
Posted by esuhornets (anonymous) on August 26, 2008 at 11:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm not defending either coach I think they both should have been fired.
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