WICHITA, Kan.
Fort Hays State University has fired its debate coach for losing his temper at a tournament, engaging in a videotaped shouting match that included pulling down his shorts to expose his underwear.
University President Edward H. Hammond also announced Friday that the school was immediately suspending its debate program until problems are addressed at the national level. He said it was important to take a stand against the declining standards of college debate.
The argument between Fort Hays State debate coach William Shanahan and another coach following a tournament match at Cross Examination Debate Association event at Wichita State University in March received nationwide attention after it was posted on YouTube on Aug. 2.
The video showed Shanahan, 47, in an angry confrontation with Dr. Shanara Reid-Brinkley, the debate coach from the University of Pittsburgh, following a debate between the Fort Hays State and Towson State of Maryland.
It was apparently sparked after the Fort Hays State team dismissed under debate rules Reid-Brinkley, who is Black, as a judge of that match. The Towson State debate team and Reid-Brinkley called the decision to remove a Black female judge an act of “White hegemony,” an exercise of power by Whites over Blacks. Shanahan is White.
“While he clearly reacted in an inappropriate manner, I understand why Mr. Shanahan was outraged by the not-so-veiled accusations of racism,” Hammond said. “During his 10 years at FHSU, I have known Bill to be a fervent champion of the underdog and racial equality.”
