Oklahoma ex-senator David Boren accused of sexual misconduct

[left-of-center2012]

A former University of Oklahoma student alleges he was touched and kissed inappropriately by former university President David Boren on several occasions almost a decade ago when the man worked as a teaching aide for the onetime governor and senator. The allegations by Jess Eddy, now 29, appear to be at the center of an investigation being conducted for the university by Jones Day, one of the world's largest law firms, into whether Boren sexually harassed male subordinates. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has also opened an investigation.

Boren, now 77, has denied any inappropriate conduct in statements released by his attorneys, who have confirmed the Jones Day investigation. Boren was a Democratic governor in the 1970s before serving in the U.S. Senate for more than 15 years. He was OU president from 1994 until stepping down last year and has been married to his second wife for more than 40 years. He has denied requests to be interviewed, citing poor health.

Eddy said he came to know Boren after taking a political science course the president taught. Boren asked him to be his teaching aide the following semester, in the fall of 2010, when Eddy was 21. That fall, he said, he accompanied Boren on a weekend fundraising-and-recruiting trip to Houston, where he flew on a private jet with Boren and attended a dinner with donors. He said he and Boren ended up in Boren's hotel room, where the two of them drank alcohol and Boren made an unwanted sexual advance and touched him inappropriately before he left the room. Eddy declined to elaborate, saying the experience was too traumatic to discuss in detail.

The next morning, when a group of OU administrators picked him and Boren up at the hotel, OU's former vice president of university development, Tripp Hall, a longtime Boren ally, placed his hand on Eddy's inner thigh, touched his genital area and asked him if he had a good time, Eddy said. Hall, who left the university in November, did not respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment. He declined to comment on the allegations.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/education/article/Oklahoma-ex-senator-David-Boren-accused-of-sexual-13727075.php

[DURHAM D]

1. This type of story has been chasing Boren his

Last edited Fri Mar 29, 2019, 11:29 PM - Edit history (2)

entire adult life. One of my best friends (now deceased) told me a similar story that happened to him when he was a student of Boren's at Oklahoma Baptist University. This was back in the late 60s - early 70s. My friend was gay and I heard countless stories about Boren over the decades from members of the community.

His marriage is a cover but not a very good one given that Oklahoma is a small state with an LBGT community that is tight-knit.

ETA: If social media was a thing back in the 70s David would not have had a career in politics or academia.

[Blue_true]

2. It's sad that during his early life, coming out could have meant injury

or death. He chose to keep the secret instead of openly resolving it.

On edit. He could be bisexual, which would not make his marriages a cover.

[DURHAM D]

3. Trust me, his marriage is a cover.

To be honest I know a whole lot about this matter but I have said all that I intend to say.

jftr - I have dozens and dozens of gay friends who grew up in Oklahoma that are David's age and older. They all came out decades ago and are healthy and happy.