“I wish I would have had the opportunity to have a hearing. When reasonable people understand what my wife and I are creating, it calms them down.”
Former University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow said Thursday that regents fired him because they were uncomfortable with him and his wife producing and appearing in pornographic videos.
The regents voted unanimously during a hastily convened closed meeting Wednesday evening to fire Gow.
After the vote, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and regents President Karen Walsh issued statements saying the regents had learned of specific conduct by Gow that subjected the university to “significant reputational harm.” Rothman called Gow’s actions “abhorrent” and Walsh said she was “disgusted.” But neither of them offered any details of the allegations.
Gow told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday morning that regents had discovered that he and his wife, former UW-La Crosse professor Carmen Wilson, had been producing and appearing in pornographic videos.
He maintained that he never mentioned UW-La Crosse or his role at the university in any of the videos and the firing violated his free speech rights.
