Fair or foul: university chancellor fired for appearing in porn videos with his wife

The school definitely has to distance themselves from that.

I agree with the great majority of what you've said in your extended comment, and I agree with the first part of the quoted sentence and the general sentiment (if not the absolutist statement) that you've expressed in the latter part of the sentence, but the bolded portion seems a giant leap. I think it's safe to assume that, when you speak of "being in adult movies," you're not talking about Wally Shawn and Andre Gregory "wrestl[ing] with complicated ideas and viewpoints" in "My Dinner With Andre." From what I understand of this case, you're referring to performing in and distributing (or making available to substantial audiences) pornographic films. Certainly, performing in, directing, or distributing pornographic films -- even those that do not clearly meet the Supreme Court's standards of "obscenity" -- are not generally protected "free speech" under the First and Fourteenth Amendments, anymore than would be the decision of the chancellor and his wife to open up their bedroom blinds and provide hundreds of folding chairs for curious or interested people to watch the show every evening from the yard outside the house. And even protected "free speech" is subject to all kinds of restrictions, including those of time, place, and manner. Perhaps you are suggesting that such displays deserve more insulation from adverse consequences when performed by university administrators, but I honestly don't see why that would be so. If anything, their hobby of broadcasting their sexual lives would likely have a far greater (and, I suspect, highly negative) effect on their job performance, which is almost always (with notable exceptions) a legitimate basis for decisions about continued employment.

Woke America is out of control.

However, these morality clauses are BS.

If a person does their job, their outside life ought to be off limits, regardless of seniority.

I’ve been in senior leadership positions that always try to ensnare outside living within the employment contract. It’s a garbage move based on 100% Puritanical nonsense and ought to be fought on 1A grounds, which absolutely so incorporate adult content.

This man did his job and was kinky on the side. It seems the worry about snickers regarding that sex life would be too much to tolerate, but that would only impact reputations or business if allowed. Personal sex lives on video is becoming normalized by millennials, so maybe these attitudes will change.

At his pay level he’ll be fine. What is worse are the school teachers who are destroyed because of the holy roller attacks on personal liberty.

However, if no one cared about the kinks of others, this wouldn’t matter.

I hate prude America but presumably the school employed him to help and not hurt their reputation. Why keep him on payroll knowing it's going to turn off donors and make the institution a laughing stock? They have zero obligation to change the hearts of stakeholders on morality in order to defend keeping him... firing him is 100% the correct and fair move.

Correct, and many do care and if he's a smart person he would have been able to weigh the risks. I don't give a crap about how much porn he wants to make but I'm not his employer...

foul. The university had rules. He violated the rules. If he wants to do that and keep his job, he can make his own university and all that. (You can, to, by the way.)

The answer is the school doing what is best for the school and it's students.

At first thought, I thought it was a pretty gray and wasn't sure what the correct response would be, particularly because I have no ties to Wisconsin. Once hearing his response about free speech protection, it made it clear that this person should be fired, partly because he doesn't know what he is talking about, in addition to potential other negative consequences of his prior actions.

Gross…he should be fired just for being gross

Free speech exists in academia to ensure that such ideas as pornography, infanticide, fascism, etc. can be discussed in a rational manner, without reprisal, and that we can even discuss what place community standards and morality play in civil society. Let reason lead where it may. That was the standard in the middle ages, contrary to popular opinion.

Free will is another manner. To maintain that free speech guarantees anyone may act in any manner he or she chooses will inevitably lead to anarchy.

See, it's the reactionary stance of the university's leadership, to kowtow to whatever the public or donors might be queasy about, that is the problem, instead of taking a true position of leadership and saying, the man is doing his job, so what he does on his own time, is his own business. His porn activities are about his personal kink, not about the university's reputation. Conflating the two is a large part of the problem here. The same goes at many employers, so much so, that private domains are hoovered up as grounds for adverse actions against employees. It's getting to the point that it's becoming more difficult to obtain senior level positions if you have lived outside the usual, normative standards of behavior. The claim of reputational harm is overly broad. The safe position is to offend no one, and demand pristine mendacity. The result is the average worker, and even senior-level executives, are hostage until they retire. That's BS.

Are objections to adultery or fornication (I didn't and won't watch the video) out-of-bounds?

They are both runners.

jsonline.com

What to know about Carmen Wilson, former academic who appeared in sex videos with UW-La Crosse chancellor, husband Joe Gow

@journalsentinel

Carmen Wilson and then-UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow appear in videos on several porn websites using \

Link:www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/...

"Both enjoy running, said Gow, so they decided to run from opposite sides of the famous San Francisco bridge and meet their officiant for the ceremony in the middle."
As Gow's spouse, Wilson served as an "associate to the chancellor" under the terms of his contract. The formal appointment is unpaid and complements the chancellor's public-facing role leading the university.

Posting private acts in a public space is not promoting strong marriage. You are sharing your spouse with the public.

They have commentary in the SHC (cooking vid) about 17:53 in where they complain about their president ("growing enrollment 8% in the middle of the year in the middle of nowhere), their CFO (screaming at everyone, pounding fists), call the provost a beetle at 18:53, and make fun of the her husband, "Scary Gary." The husband is a biker and was a smart-aleck too. Then they make fun of the foundation guy and he rebuffed their help.

That may be just made up for the skit but I don't know really...

The books are also under Geri Jay on Amazon. A lot of reviewers are jealous that this couple can afford to shoot videos. I think also their high-paying jobs are stressful so porn is also a way to release that stress. It's all related...

He'll also be connected enough (and her too) to find another job in another region...and not have any issues or blowback.