A University of Kansas professor has been placed on administrative leave after he was filmed saying that men won’t vote for women based on their intelligence, they should be “rounded up and shot.”
Phillip Lowcock, a faculty member in the KU Department of Health, Sports and Exercise Sciences, was speaking in a university conference room in front of a group of students while making disconcerting comments.
“When you have boys who think you’re smarter than girls, you have serious problems,” Lowcock began.
‘That’s what frustrates me. There will be some men in our society who will still refuse to vote for a potential female president because they don’t believe women are smart enough to be president.
‘We could line up all those guys and shoot them. “They obviously don’t understand how the world works,” he added.
Moments after making the statement, it becomes clear that Lowcock knew his ill-advised comments would be poorly received.
‘Did I say that? Delete that from the recordings. I don’t want the deans to hear that I said that!’ he said, still facing the camera.
Unfortunately for Lowcock, the video clip that was recorded earlier in the semester has gone viral with more than 3 million views since it was posted Wednesday morning.
The university acted relatively quickly and, seven hours after the video was released, was forced to place Lowcock on administrative leave while issuing a statement of apology.
‘The instructor offers his most sincere apologies and deeply regrets the situation. “She intended to emphasize her advocacy for women’s rights and equality, and she acknowledges that she did a very poor job of doing so,” the university said in a statement.
Lowcock had been present at the university since 1984, when he worked as a graduate teaching assistant. He teaches a class “taken by mostly first-year student-athletes.”
Beginning in 2015, he was an academic advisor for multiple athletics teams while performing support work for international student-athletes.
Those who commented on the video seemed confused about the context of the discussion that was taking place.
A lesson plan on the screen was titled ‘Sleep Cycles’ and the content appeared to discuss differences in the amount of sleep men and women get.
Two Kansas Republican senators were shocked by Lowcock’s comments
Lowcock is seen in an earlier profile photo taken in 2015. He had been present at the university since 1984, when he worked as a graduate teaching assistant.
Among those commenting on
Fellow Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran added: “This is disturbing and inappropriate.” There should never be a call for violence at any time or anywhere in the classroom. We must cool down the political rhetoric and be respectful and civil towards each other, and that is especially true for someone charged with teaching our young people.’
The national free speech group, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE, defended Lowcock and asked that the university not punish him, calling Lowcock’s comments a “casual joke” rather than serious intent. of committing violence.
“The First Amendment protects teachers who tell short, off-topic jokes in the classroom,” a FIRE statement said.
‘It also protects hyperbole. To constitute a true threat, a speaker must communicate a serious intention to commit an act of unlawful violence against a specific individual or group of individuals.’
FIRE called Lowcock’s comments an “off-the-cuff joke” rather than serious intent to commit violence, which is protected speech, according to the statement.