Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan, college wrestlers at the center of a scandal for having appeared on the web site, FRATMEN TV, have been permanently dismissed from their wrestling program. University of Nebraska Head Wrestling Coach Mark Manning issued the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

“Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan have been permanently dismissed from our wrestling program. The history of behaviour of these men, including the current matter, does not reflect the standard of excellence we aspire to on and off the mat. We have outstanding student-athletes in our program and we will move forward in a positive manner toward our goals. I want to personally apologize for any embarrassment that may have been caused for our athletic department, the University and our fans.”

Coach Manning makes no mention of the incidents in the "history of behaviour of these men" but it's been widely reported that both wrestlers have had to pay fines for unbecoming conduct. Donahoe  was fined for "maintaining a disorderly house" and "having an open alcohol container". Jordan paid fines "for possessing or consuming alcohol as a minor" as well as "trespassing and assault". Are Donahoe and Jordan just a couple of wild college guys or are they troubled young men? Perhaps they are struggling with their homo or bi-sexuality.

While great strides may have been made in the acceptance of gay students on university campuses, the same cannot necessarily be said of student athletes. Donahoe and Jordan are still quite young and as is sometimes the case with athletes, the prospect of coming out doesn't arise until they are much older due to the pervasiveness of homophobia in sports (see my post on out gay pro-wrestler, Chris Kanyon).

The owner of FRATMEN TV, John Marsh says that "If Nebraska is going to be pigheaded and kick him [Donahoe] off unreasonably... there has to be another wrestling program that's going to want him." It's highly unlikely however that Donahoe and Jordan will be accepted into another school's wrestling program because according to assistant athletic director for compliance, Josh White, they'd need to apply for reinstatement with the NCAA and that's not likely going to happen. So both young men's college careers are ruined. I get that the University needs rules of conduct, however, couldn't Donahoe and Jordan be disciplined in some other manner, instead of being permanently thrown out of the program?

Why did Donahoe and Jordan risk their college careers by becoming online 'porn stars'? Are Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan  gay? Maybe, maybe not. And since the scandal broke, did they suddenly find themselves having to 'come out' as straight to family and friends, to reassure everyone that they are 'normal'? If Donahoe and Jordan identify as straight, as apparently do most of the models who appear on FRATMEN TV (whose audience is mainly gay men), then I can't help but wonder if it's the branding of this whole incident as 'gay porn' that is really freaking everyone out at the University of Nebraska and is the very thing that has made it a 'dirty' scandal.

Marsh says "I believe someone was out to get these guys," which could very well be the case. The titillation factor alone would guarantee a boost in readership for the University of Nebraska's gossip site, THE SCARLET PROJECT and no doubt gave them the impetus to publish the details of Donahoe's and Jordan's modeling (without any regard, it would seem, for the impact on their lives). Ironically, since THE SCARLET PROJECT first broke the story and it exploded nationally, the site has been noticeably quiet. They must be feeling plenty of heat over this scandal and there has to have been some degree of fallout as there hasn't been so much as an update on the story since August 9, 2008.

What motivated Donahoe and Jordan to model for FRATMEN TV? John Marsh observed "...[that if] I tell guys... it's going to be the end of the world if your parents or someone finds out, you really shouldn't do it... They really don't care... They've come from a Paris Hilton, Tommy Lee-Pamela Anderson sex tape generation, MySpace pages. The shame and stigma aren't there for them... Guys think it's kind of cool. They usually love the attention." I disagree with Marsh as I believe there is a lot of shame and stigma being attached to this 'gay porn' scandal as evidenced by the actions of University of Nebraska officials. In this age of the world wide web, the MySpace/Facebook generation can easily and eagerly find instant celebrity and fame (or infamy) online but I'm sure that neither Paul Donahoe nor Kenny Jordan could have imagined the kind of notoriety that they are experiencing right now.

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