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IN THIS FOHO EXCLUSIVE:
LAW SCHOOL PROF ALLEGEDLY USES RACIAL SLUR AGAINST ASIAN BASKETBALL PLAYERS IN JULY ALTERCATION
PROF CALLS ALLEGATIONS “UTTERLY FALSE” AND “DEFAMATORY”, DESPITE…
(a) MULTIPLE CORROBORATING EYEWITNESSES
(b) CONFIRMATION FROM PROVOST + UNICOMMS THAT STANFORD IS INVESTIGATING INCIDENT
(c) POLICE REPORT REFERRED TO DA’S OFFICE, ASST DA CALLS LANGUAGE "DEEPLY DISTURBING"
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THE FACTS
Around 9pm on July 17, Stanford Law School professor John Donohue and his two sons were playing pickup basketball at the Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center. According to our sources, the remaining players (two on Donohue’s team, five on the opposing team) were all of Chinese origin.
Eyewitness tipsters report that a dispute between Donohue and a player escalated to the level of a physical altercation. In the aftermath, Donohue reportedly used expletives and racial slurs that the eyewitnesses considered racially offensive and anti-immigrant.
FoHo has made the editorial decision not to publish the alleged slur due to liability concerns.
Eyewitnesses further allege that Donohue demanded that the Chinese players apologize to avoid getting “thrown out of the country,” and instructed his son to “tell [the Chinese player] who I am and the situation he’s in.”
When we reached out to Donohue for comment on this incident yesterday morning, he said our report was “utterly false” and “defamatory.”
However…
- Reached by email, Provost Persis Drell confirmed to FoHo that there is a university investigation currently underway.
- Unicomms told FoHo that the investigation was initiated by Elizabeth Magill, SLS Dean, and is being “co-led by an outside investigator and a Stanford faculty member”. We reached out to Magill, who declined to further comment.
- We have confirmed that a police report was filed, and forwarded to the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office. When we reached out for comment, Assistant District Attorney Brian Welch told us:
"After a careful review we determined that the behavior did not meet the elements of a crime. The reported language used during this incident was deeply disturbing. We trust the University is taking this matter seriously."
The latest: we're working on obtaining copies of public records related to the case. We'll keep you posted.
This report is based on interviews with multiple independent eyewitnesses, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. |
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🌲 TIPS TIPS TIPS 🌲
This story originated with a tip. We followed up.
It's what we do.
Anonymity guaranteed.
tips@fountainhopper.com // (775) 538-6477
*(Faculty, staff, admins: don't be shy! We have four years of experience protecting our sources' privacy. Trust us, we know what we're doing.) |
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🤔 OUR TAKE 🤔
Donohue’s public persona appears to be that of an anti-Trump, pro-immigration professor who has literally written a casebook on employment discrimination. A recent glowing Stanford Magazine feature published after the July incident (ironically titled “John Donohue Isn’t Afraid to Make You Mad”) describes him as “upbeat and mild” in person; he posts Buddhist quotes on Facebook.
If the allegations are true, we think seeing a person marketed like this use such language — and then deny it despite an investigation by his employer — is super-duper-messed-up.
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