PHILADELPHIA ― Bill Cosby, once the very public pride of Temple University, parted ways with the school last year amid allegations that he had drugged and sexually assaulted women. Now that his own words show behavior that was at least unsavory, his lawyer is feeling heat for continuing to serve as the chairman of the university’s board of trustees.
In deposition testimony taken a decade ago and made public this month, Cosby acknowledged giving Quaaludes to women with whom he wanted to have sex ― adding evidence that his lawyer, Patrick O’Connor, knew that Cosby had behaved in a way that could reflect badly on the university.
The president of the university’s faculty union is calling for O’Connor, currently chairman of the trustees, to step down, but university officials are standing behind O’Connor. A half-dozen trustees contacted by The Associated Press wouldn’t comment on the situation, though one, Joseph W. Marshall III, expressed “full support” for O’Connor. Experts are split on whether O’Connor’s work for Cosby constituted a clear conflict of interest.
“In my experience, the highest standards of ethical behavior and the best interest of Temple have always guided the chairman’s leadership and relationship to the university,” Temple President Neil Theobald said in a statement this week.
Temple is a public university with a history of helping underprivileged students from Philadelphia ― such as Cosby ― do better in life.
Cosby was the public face of the school for decades. He was a student there in the 1960s, left school to find fame as a comedian and actor, and later returned to earn his degree.
Temple was always the academic home for the celebrity who championed education. He became a Temple trustee in 1982. According to a review of minutes, he attended just one board meeting over the next 32 years, but he was an active booster who wore Temple shirts on his 1980s his sitcom The Cosby Show.
