And, like clockwork, here it comes: the appeals to refrain from terminating Sherri Goforth, coming from some of the very folks who pushed this issue to the point where such an outcome is now the most likely possibility.
We've been here before. Remember Bill Hobbs back in 2006? A big deal was made in the press about that goofy Muslim cartoon he put on the Internet, his employer (Belmont University) was mentioned in the articles (even though Belmont had nothing to do with that cartoon), putting Belmont in a position where it really had no choice but to save face publicly by giving Hobbs the heave-ho. I remember talking to some folks in the local press back then and getting this general reaction: "Well, that's silly. They shouldn't fire him." As though the press accounts somehow had nothing to do with it; as though Belmont was just sitting around and just up and arbitrarily decided to can him. It's like someone shooting a guy in the head and being surprised that they fall over dead. "Well, I'll be damned. He died just like that. Huh. Never saw that coming."
The probable outcome of this episode will be the termination (one way or the other) of Sherri Goforth. So, don't act surprised. And don't act like you had nothing to do with it. Own it. Hell, be proud of it, the "greater good" and all of that. I honestly doubt this will result in "some good com[ing] out of this incident" with "lessons...learned so our state won’t be lambasted again nationally." But, hey maybe it will. I just hope that this one woman's job and professional reputation (seriously, who would hire her for the near future?) is worth all of that. Color me skeptical. And, again, be careful, because you could be the next one in someone's sights.
For more on this general concept, Google "reasonably foreseeable" and see what you come up with.
