The Case Of Joe Gow, the University Chancellor Fired for Making Porn With his Wife, Marches On

As Kinkly previously reported, Joe Gow was fired from his job as a Chancellor at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse (UWLC), for making pornography with his wife Carmen Wilson and earning income from these videos a side hustle. And just last week the school’s faculty hearing committee unanimously recommended Gow’s complete dismissal from the institution over the brouhaha. That recommendation will continue to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, who will finally decide whether Gow will be terminated.

The facts of the case

Gow did indeed violate school policy in one specific way; an employee of the school must disclose any outside of work that earns them income. However, as is often the case with these kinds of stories, it is the UWLC ethics that present the grey area.

This part of UWLC rules states: “This code of ethics shall not prevent a University Staff member from accepting outside employment or following a pursuit which in no way interferes with the full and faithful discharge of his or her duties to the UW System.”

So, it seems, Gow is allowed to pursue other money-making interests, just as long as he can still perform his job for the school and meet the expectations of his job. But he was still fired for having a side hustle. Or at least, that's the surface-level reason for his possible termination...

The facts are that Gow and Carmen made their videos on their own time, never during work, and never on UWLC property. And so far, no one other than the school's administration itself — not Gow’s fellow workers or the public — has leveled a complaint. So, once again, we see that the university's decision isn't really about the fact that Gow was making "money on the side;" it's entirely about what he was doing to earn that money. And the fact that several UWLC major donors claim they will withhold further monies if Gow remains.

Yes, the old stigma rears its head again, even though Gow and his wife are two consenting adults engaging in something that pretty much all adults are engaging in. They're just doing it on camera, for money. And that lost Gow his job.

Gow's termination is a First Amendment issue, activist agree

Now we see that the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression came out supporting Gow. In their recent op-ed, "The naked truth: University of Wisconsin’s Push to fire professor over porn hobby is bad for all faculty," writer Graham Piro, gives a a full breakdown of how tenured instructors, of which Gow is one, are specifically protected under law, and how the outcome of this case could impact the tenants of free speech in general.

As Piro points out, and we are all probably somewhat aware of might but maybe not on a personal level, there are lots of laws preventing our workplaces from dictating or punishing us for what we do and say in our private lives. When we're speaking about politics, religion or social issues, this is protected speech under the First Amendment. And like it or not, there's a lot we hear out in this great wide world of ours that we might not agree with, but because of our rights, which are still (at least for now) applicable to all, from college professors to your mechanic to your neighbor, that speech allowed to be uttered in a free society as long as it doesn't incite violence.

With the popularity of social media platforms, it's not unusual to have our private activities discovered by our co-workers, classmates, or Aunt Bessie (you know what a scamp Aunt Bessie is!). And there are lots of folks still driven by a Puritan ethic in the U.S. that has seeped into all parts of culture. So, when our private activities are discovered, it can still lead to consequences in the workplace, regardless of how antithetical that is to free speech. The instances of someone being fired from their job for enjoying some sort of salacious side hustle, or actually making porn, are too numerous to list. Unfortunately, Gow is in good company.

And as Piro also states, just as our local and federal government is not supposed to, public Universities can’t punish a faculty member for what Piro calls “extramural expression,” no matter what that expression is, yes even pornography, if that expression does not interfere with a faculty member, quite simply, doing their job.

We shall see what, if any repercussions, all this could have on future faculty employment, the First Amendment and our freedoms.