KU lecturer on leave after ‘inappropriate reference to violence’ during lecture • Kansas Reflector

LAWRENCE – A University of Kansas lecturer was placed on administrative leave Wednesday after a video surfaced of him addressing students and saying men refuse to vote for a female president because they believe women aren’t smart enough to be president , should be shot.

The teacher’s comments were posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning and had been viewed more than 2 million times by afternoon. The video is a recording of a lecture from earlier this semester.

The teacher says the following:

“There will be some men in our society who will refuse to vote for a potential female president because they think women are not smart enough to be president. We can line up all these guys and shoot them. They clearly don’t understand how the world works.”

He continued: “Did I say that? Delete that from the recording. I don’t want the deans to hear that I said that.”

Serious@UnivOfKansas? Will you have this said in your classrooms? That men who won’t vote for Kamala Harris for president should be lined up and shot? ⁦@RogerMarshallMD⁩ ⁦@JerryMoran⁩ pic.twitter.com/7hHihxScEg

— Ned Ryun (@nedryun) October 9, 2024

The KU student newspaper, the University newspaper Kansanidentified the teacher based on online exchanges. A KU representative did not respond to a Kansas Reflector request to confirm the teacher’s name.

KU issued a statement via X called the comments an “inappropriate reference to violence” and confirmed that the teacher had been placed on administrative leave.

“The instructor sincerely apologizes and deeply regrets the situation. “His intention was to emphasize his advocacy for women’s rights and equality, and he acknowledges that he has done a very poor job in doing so,” the statement said.

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall wrote in a post on

The senator also called on KU to fire the teacher.

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran called the video “disturbing and inappropriate” in a post on X. He condemned calls for violence in classrooms and emphasized softening political rhetoric and valuing respect and civility.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach made a message on X criticism of the Kansas Board of Regents. He wrote:

“KS Regents: We educate leaders, build communities and make discoveries that change the world.

KU prof: Some men in our society will refuse to vote for a female Prez because they think women are not smart enough to be Prez. We can line up all these guys and shoot them.”

Ned Ryun, a conservative pundit and activist and son of former Republican U.S. Representative Jim Ryun of Kansas, initially posted the 32 seconds video about X.

A similar incident occurred more than a decade ago when a journalism professor, David Guth, was placed on administrative leave after making comments critical of the National Rifle Association. 2013 reporting by Lawrence Journal-World. Guth was not fired but retired in 2019, according to his KU website.