A member of the board of governors of Missouri Southern State University has resigned following the revelation that he used the word “fag” in a meeting. A piece in the Joplin Globe by Greg Grisolano indicates that David Ansley resigned on Monday, explaining that:
I have always thought of myself as a tolerant man. Yet the fact that I spontaneously made the comment has caused me pause. Personally, I am conducting introspection. My goal is to examine my own prejudices with the hope of renewed tolerance. I hope to be a better person because of all this.
Ansley used the word while the board was discussing a proposed revamp of the university’s mascot on Saturday: “We went from the fag lion to the ferocious lion,” Ansley said, apparently in approval of the new logo.
Rod Anderson, the chairman of the board of governors, looked quickly to reporters covering the meeting and said: “That’s off the record.”
“Off the record” is traditionally a privilege granted by reporters to protect sources or gain otherwise unattainable information. It is not generally the right of sources to determine whether or not material is on the record, especially after the information has already been revealed.
After the meeting students at Missouri Southern State University formed a Facebook group to advocate for Ansley’s resignation.
