Fort Hays fires debate coach, citing ethics violation in "mooning" incident

Ethics breech

A Kansas debate coach whose tantrum was caught on tape has been fired from a university's debate program.

Fort Hays State debate coach and communication studies assistant professor William Shanahan was videotaped cursing and dropping trou and exposed his underwear in front of students during a tournament in Wichita in March. The video was posted to YouTube in August.

YouTube link

Watch the entire video of the incident.

Fort Hays State President Edward H. Hammond said Shanahan's conduct "falls below the standard." He also said he was surprised no one involved reported the incident.

"No one from the tournament staff notified us about the incident last spring, which is a surprise given the scope of what happened," Hammond said. "Everyone has the right to freedom of speech, but these actions are not acceptable for someone who is representing our university."

The debate program is suspended until the problems were addressed at the national level, the president said. He added steps were being taken so as not to disadvantage the FHSU debate students in the coming year.

Information for this story provided by Fort Hays State University Relations Office.

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