A professor at the Catholic University of America has been suspended from his position over a controversial tweet against a woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
University President John Garvey issued a statement on Friday condemning Dean Will Rainford’s tweet, terming it unacceptable.
“We should expect any opinion he expresses about sexual assault to be thoughtful, constructive, and reflective of the values of Catholic University, particularly in communications from the account handle @NCSSSDean. While it was appropriate for him to apologize and to delete his Twitter and Facebook accounts, this does not excuse the serious lack of judgment and insensitivity of his comments,” Garvey said.
On Wednesday, Rainford tweeted from his official handle questioning the victim’s claims of sexual assault.
“Swetnick is 55 y/o, Kavanaugh is 52 y/o. Since when do senior girls hang with freshmen boys? If it happened when Kavanaugh was a senior, Swetnick was an adult drinking with&by her admission, having sex with underage boys. In another universe, he would be victim & she the perp!” he wrote in the tweet which was later deleted.
The tweet has resulted in an outrage against the professor’s conduct with some students calling for his dismissal. On Monday, a group of students took to the streets to protest the remarks and sought his resignation.
“Our message was his comments were unacceptable and we want him to resign,” student Ellen McSweeney told Religion News Service.
Meanwhile, Rainford issued a statement seeking forgiveness for his comments, calling them “impulsive” and “thoughtless.”
“I am aware that many of you are angry, frustrated and hurt,” he wrote and added, “For this, I am truly sorry.”