After controversy, inquiry conducted on debate coach

‘ ‘ ‘ Fallen posters lay on the ground outside the quiet office of the William Pitt Debating… ‘ ‘ ‘ Fallen posters lay on the ground outside the quiet office of the William Pitt Debating Union’s coach, Shanara Reid-Brinkley. Despite the online video of her and William Shanahan, a professor at Fort Hays State University, and the controversy it’s created, Reid-Brinkley’s office has been quiet all summer. ‘ ‘ ‘ By now, many students have seen the infamous YouTube video. The two are shown watching the post-debate discussion of the quarterfinal between Fort Hays and Towson this past March. Suddenly, Reid-Brinkley and Shanahan engage in a shouting match of obscenities and indistinct dialogue in front of a large group of spectators. Shanahan bounces around Reid-Brinkley as they argue, before he drops his pants and moons her. ‘ ‘ ‘ The two coaches are separated momentarily, but a second argument breaks out. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I have never seen anything like this in my 18 years of debate,’ said Gordon Stables, the director of debate at the University of South Carolina. ‘ ‘ ‘ Stables is also a vice president for the Cross-Examination Debate Association, the organization that sponsored the debate between Fort Hays and Towson University where the controversial showdown took place. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Sometimes people care so much that it bubbles over,’ says Shanahan in the video. ‘I don’t think I’m acting immaturely. I’m showing how much I care about every single person in this room.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Shanahan was dismissed from Fort Hays, and his debate team was suspended last Friday. ‘ ‘ ‘ Edward Hammond, the university’s president, explained in a Fort Hays news release that Shanahan’s behavior violated their faculty code of ethics. ‘ ‘ ‘ Reid-Brinkley, who returned to campus for her first class yesterday, declined to comment on the event. ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt has yet to come to a conclusion about what measures to take, if any. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘An inquiry is being conducted at this time, and no decisions have been made,’ said Barbara Warnick, chair of Pitt’s Communications department. ‘ ‘ ‘ According to Stables, both Reid-Brinkley and Shanahan were among the top picks of judges from both teams. ‘ ‘ ‘ On the day of the debate, the competing teams were routinely given cards with what Stables called ‘mini options’ on them. Each team chose to eliminate one of the five judges, Reid-Brinkley being Fort Hays’ choice. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Reid-Brinkley was within the top 10 to 15 percent of preferred critics,’ said Stables, ‘until the last minute.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Pitt debate coach was a judge earlier this year and, according to Stables, Fort Hays and Shanahan did not think that she was sympathetic to the arguments they had and would not be the best judge for them. ‘ ‘ ‘ While Fort Hays believes they were exercising their rights according to the debate rules, Stables said both Towson and Reid-Brinkley suspected she was dismissed because she was black. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It is an argument of ethnic composition. The question is: Did the debate jury have a competition of racial diversity?’ said Stables. ‘ ‘ ‘ The Association published a news release that explained it has been quietly investigating the matter since March and that the behavior seen in the YouTube clip is not an accurate representation of the organization. ‘ ‘ ‘ Despite the event, Stables believes that the dismissal of Reid-Brinkley is an important part of why Fort Hays lost the debate. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I have tremendous respect for Shanara Reid-Brinkley,’ he said. ‘This is not a representative anecdote for her. I think she is a talented young member, and I am looking forward to working with her.’