College Wrestler-Cum-Porn Star’s Second Chance

nebraskaporndonahoe Paul Donahoe is not gay, but he knew he was stripping down for a gay audience when he posed for photos on Fratmen.TV, an adult website that purports to showcase real college guys. But when Donahoe and another University of Nebraska student, Kenny Jordan, were outed on campus as amateur porn stars, the reaction was anything but flattering — especially since “Nash” and “Cal” were wrestlers on Nebraska’s college team. The pair were kicked off the squad in August under the NCAA’s rules of disallowing college athletes from promoting themselves for commercial gain — a petty and pretty ridiculous conclusion that reeked of homophobia. Donahoe was kicked off campus, but he did have to donate his Fratmen.TV earnings to a nonprofit. But what he really wanted to do was wrestle again. And it makes sense: Donahoe was a national champion in his 125-pound weight class in 2007. So he was forced to transfer schools, lost class credit, delay his graduation, and of course, suffer public humiliation. After sitting out a semester and transferring to Edinboro University, 5-foot-5 Donahoe is now wrestling again. He’s also a star athlete: He’s ranked No. 1 in the 125-pound class and is unbeaten (32-0) for the season. And he’s unapologetic about what happened. “I didn’t do anything illegal,” he tells the Boston Globe. “I didn’t hurt anyone. I don’t think I did anything wrong. Who should I apologize to? … I am straight, but on the forums people make a lot of gay jokes about me. I’m not too concerned. They can talk about me all they want, it doesn’t matter. If a guy wants to be with a guy, who cares?” (Meanwhile, Donahoe’s Fratmen.TV photoshoot was pure solo fare.) His new school seems to be backing him more than Nebraska ever did: “We’ve all made mistakes,” says Edinboro coach and 4-time Olympic wrestling medalist Bruce Baumgartner. “Not that I condone what he did, but there are players all across the country on college teams that actually have broken the law or harmed people that are still competing.” “We decided we would give him an opportunity to get an education at Edinboro University while competing, hopefully, for another national championship. To me the graduation is more important than the title.” So is there a double standard here? Is a college athlete stripping down for an adult site that terrible? “I believe it was unfair for Nebraska to dismiss me from the team, says Donahoe. “For one, there’s plenty of athletes throughout the University of Nebraska who have had DUIs and who have been in fights and are still playing. But I guess that’s OK. Posing nude, I guess, is worse than someone drinking and driving and risking someone’s life, in their eyes.” The link between the Fratmen.TV names and Donahoe and Jordan’s real identities were first reported by Nebraska gossip site The Scarlet Project. Since reporting the news, the site has been all but stagnant. A possibly NSFW photo of Donahoe and Jordan follows.

fratmenguys

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

63 Comments*

  • lessthan

    What a bunch of assholes. Stories like this infuriate me. The whole ‘sex is evil and naughty, we must punish those who think otherwise.’ is so pathetic and so prevalent. I hate that people feel the need to judge and punish other people. I hope Paul continues to do well and that Kenny is okay. I notice that the article doesn’t mention Kenny at all, not a good sign.

  • dizzy spins

    I dont understand why this kid was kicked off the wrestling team. He didnt pose under his own name or advertise the fact that he was a wrestler for Nebraska, so how was he commercializing himself? He had a job–same as if he was flipping burgers or selling clothes at the Gap. Now if the NCAA has some sort of b.s. “morality clause”–which Im pretty sure they don’t–that’d be a different story. I think Donohoe should get a lawyer and sue the school and/or NCAA. Sadly, even if he got reinstated, i think his teammates and opponents would still give him hell.

    I dont think he should feel humiliated, since he didnt do anything illegal or immoral. He didnt even have sex–just displayed his nude body. SHEESH!

  • Charles

    At the beginning of every season, NCAA athletes sign their rights away to the NCAA in order to be allowed to compete. We can, in no way, receive compensation for the use of our images. Our images for that year, become part of the NCAA’s brand. The rule is intended to draw a clear line between amateur and professional athletes, but it clearly applies here. I know from personal experience that schools across the country addressed this issue specifically in their fall meetings.

  • Tim in SF

    David,

    Thanks for posting the pics and leaving them up.

    The kid is lucky to be having given a second chance.

    I hope when he’s done wrestling, he gives Sean Cody a call. 🙂

  • oneway

    What a study in contrasts:

    Donohoe reaches the top of a relatively small-time sport and has the balls to continue say, “What do I have to apologize for?” because he doesn’t have much to apologize for. Yeah, it was a violation of the NCAA rule on compensation for using one’s image. But, hello, that rule is primarily to prevent known starts from trading on their fame while they’re still amateur athletes. Clearly, he wasn’t violating the intent of that rule — he was using a false name for chrissakes!

    Then there’s Michael Phelps, who as of last week with Matt Lauer, is STILL on his fabricated shame tour. He’s another one who should be telling the world he doesn’t have anything to apologize for, but the corporate overlords will have none of that.

    Congrats to Donohoe — and an aside: thank you for wearing your gay cult hero icon status with pride.

  • Mike

    “The pair were kicked off the squad in August under the NCAA’s rules of disallowing college athletes from promoting themselves for commercial gain — a petty and pretty ridiculous conclusion that reeked of homophobia.”

    Um, not really.

    The site advertised that they were college wrestlers. They were hired with such promotions in mind. They were paid. I think that pretty explicitly falls into the category of promoting themselves for commercial gain. I have a few friends who play NCAA basketball and this rule is common knowledge. Just because they jerked off on a gay porn site doesn’t mean the treatment they received was homophobic – it just means they broke the rules and paid the price. I’m not sure why everyone wants to make martyrs of them.

    These guys deserved to get kicked off their wrestling team. And if the wrestling team was paying for them to be at their school, a violation of those rules (which they knew) is a slap in the face to the people who funded their educations.

  • Paul

    I grew up near Edinboro and my friends wrestled for Coach Baumgartner. Good for them!

    Donahoe is right not to apologize. I hope the kid brings home the national title.

  • Dabq

    Spot on Mike, when the real truth comes out, its usually ignored, rules are rules, and, if broken, you have to deal with the consquences.

  • Flex

    Good for him! He flies in the face of homophobic shame, loud and proud, and he is straight too! This guy clearly knows the difference between sexuality and gender. Something that his former, narrow, colleagues, clearly lack in sophistication. Perhaps they were jealous of his sex appeal? Most men are afraid of other men who know the magnitude of their sexualities. Mr. Donahoe knows his!

    I love common sense guys like him! They’re simply refreshing, and wonderful!

  • donsnyc

    The kid has a nice attitude about the “scandal”.

  • allstarecho

    If you wanna see Donahoe unedited, hit http://fleshbot.com/photogallery/fratmennash/ because they still have the pics up. SOOOOOOoooo NSFW but soooo yummy.

  • alan brickman

    he’s still hot!! pin me anytime…..

  • Devlin

    @Mike n dabq

    I have to squarely disagree with both of you. They did not break the intent of the rule, nor did they do it for fame gain. Those studs would have been hired by FratTV regardless. Saying you’re a wrestler is not giving all your past history of wins with hopes of making cash back advertisements. If it had been straight porn the whole thing would probably have been shoved under the rug. Most likely with a pat on the back and a quest for free DVD’s. The coach, of course, would most likely have been first in line.

    Regarding that pic; that shot is what cute is measured by.

    Thanks David

  • HYHYBT

    They should change the rules to *encourage* people who that good-looking to pose nude.

  • hardmannyc

    WHAT A FUCKING TOOL ON THAT STUD!!!

  • fredo777

    I have to say, I really appreciate his attitude toward the whole gay aspect of his posing for fratmen.

  • Nick

    He is perfection; the reason why I love short guys. 5’5″. Great face. Awesome body. Huge tool. Open minded. Damn, I wish he were gay.

  • Nick

    I KNOW THIS GUY. HE’S BEEN ARRESTED BEFORE! Just saying.

    He’s your standard douchebag jock… and let’s just say he isn’t always so nice to gay kids either.

    I’m not condoning the conduct of the school since clearly they wouldn’t have kicked him off the team had he been in straight porn etc… but he isn’t the perfect guy he’s making himself out to be.

  • Nick

    Also… I’m not the same Nick as No.17 (hehe)

  • CONFESSIONS OF A BAD BOY

    He’s hot. He looks just like this guy I know from school who plays football, that I’m crushin’ on real bad. Anyways good for him, still sucks what happened, but then again rules are rules.

  • John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)

    @oneway:

    Phelps has endorsements, thus EVERYTHING ($$) to loose..

  • ME!!

    i watched their porn…. IT WAS FUCKING HOTT!!!!!

  • andrew

    American wrestling is just soft porn anyway.

  • Malcom Diggs

    Why is OK to be lesbian or indulge in bisexual sex if you are female but not do similar with a man if you are male? There is clear cut bias here and no one seems to want to point this out. Women are allowed their “phases”, dalliances, experimentation or just outright open indulgences, but men have to walk this “straight” line without fail. One supposed slip and he is marked as less than human, abnormal, perverted or far worse, less than a “real man” as many a straight female will point out. It’s about time someone spoke out and I feel for this young lad and though his statements were not strong enough for my blood, they will do. His school supports him and hopefully his loved ones. If he had posed for Playgirl or stripped at some club and allowed ravenous women to paw him, no one would say a word. However, he posed solo for a gay oriented web site and suddenly his world crashes to a halt. That is in our faces anti-gay and anti-gay male!
    The fix for this is easy. Let’s stop making it a big deal when a male says he is or has had intimate relations with another guy, or in this case when a guy poses naked for the pleasure of a primarily male audience. It’s no big deal. Women pose for women; women look at women; women compliment women; women kiss women, and it most societies approve. It’s about time we put our feet down and start being 100% human as opposed to 50%, regardless of opinions from our own gender or the opposite gender!
    Kudos to this young wrestler!

  • Malcom Diggs

    Why is OK to be lesbian or indulge in bisexual sex if you are female but not do similar with a man if you are male? There is clear cut bias here and no one seems to want to point this out. Women are allowed their “phases”, dalliances, experimentation or just outright open indulgences, but men have to walk this “straight” line without fail. One supposed slip and he is marked as less than human, abnormal, perverted or far worse, less than a “real man” as many a straight female will point out. It’s about time someone spoke out and I feel for this young lad and though his statements were not strong enough for my blood, they will do. His school supports him and hopefully his loved ones. If he had posed for Playgirl or stripped at some club and allowed ravenous women to paw him, no one would say a word. However, he posed solo for a gay oriented web site and suddenly his world crashes to a halt. That is in our faces anti-gay and anti-gay male!
    The fix for this is easy. Let’s stop making it a big deal when a male says he is or has had intimate relations with another guy, or in this case when a guy poses naked for the pleasure of a primarily male audience. It’s no big deal. Women pose for women; women look at women; women compliment women; women kiss women, and it most societies approve. It’s about time we put our feet down and start being 100% human as opposed to 50%, regardless of opinions from our own gender or the opposite gender!
    Kudos to this young athelte!

  • Malcom Diggs

    Why is OK to be lesbian or indulge in bisexual sex if you are female but not do similar with a man if you are male? There is clear cut bias here and no one seems to want to point this out. Women are allowed their “phases”, dalliances, experimentation or just outright open indulgences, but men have to walk this “straight” line without fail. One supposed slip and he is marked as less than human, abnormal, perverted or far worse, less than a “real man” as many a straight female will point out. It’s about time someone spoke out and I feel for this young lad and though his statements were not strong enough for my blood, they will do. His school supports him and hopefully his loved ones. If he had posed for Playgirl or stripped at some club and allowed ravenous women to paw him, no one would say a word. However, he posed solo for a gay oriented web site and suddenly his world crashes to a halt. That is in our faces anti-gay and anti-gay male!
    The fix for this is easy. Let’s stop making it a big deal when a male says he is or has had intimate relations with another guy, or in this case when a guy poses naked for the pleasure of a primarily male audience. It’s no big deal. Women pose for women; women look at women; women compliment women; women kiss women, and it most societies approve. It’s about time we put our feet down and start being 100% human as opposed to 50%, regardless of opinions from our own gender or the opposite gender!
    Kudos to this young athlete!

  • Dick

    SFW clip of them and a garden hose. They have shorts on the entire time.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ3GYbhh4Rk

  • hf2hvit

    He’s about as straight as the married men I’ve dicked up the ass.

  • Shawneeboy

    I just think it’s unfair that the have to sign away the right to use their image to make money in order to be on the team, whatever the sport. The rule should be about being paid to WRESTLE or play basketball or whatever! THAT is what would make them a professional. I don’t see how this college has any right to ask for that kind of agreement… it’s THEIR image.

    As far as whether it would have been such a “big deal” if they’d done straight porn, etc., we’d have to actually find cases of that to know. I don’t think that you can just assume the college wouldn’t care if it was “straight porn”, although it’s a definite possibility that they are biased… I’m just saying, we don’t know this.

  • Sam

    That guy is all American hot. I’d take him over a professional model any day

  • kacky

    Sorry, I disagree. “There are crimes worse than mine” is not a valid reason for doing something wrong. Posing for porn would seem to be a clear violation of school rules. If you’re worried about athletes getting away with drunk driving, then attack that on its own merits.

  • scribe

    these schools make so much money off of these kids by ticket sales and clothes sales!!! And most of the kids get little in return (only a few can turn professional- not counting education). If these kids were paid some money, boosters would be taken out of the equation and the kid wouldn’t have to have sold pics of his cock. Dudes who don’t need money aren’t on these tyoe of sites.

  • MattGMD

    Now and then a Puritan remnant rears up and sounds the naked body alarm. Some people were apoplectic when Janet Jackson’s errant nipple made a brief debut on tv during the Super Bowl. “The children will be traumatized”, some claimed. If one’s kidlet is “traumatized” over an innocent nipple, then the parent has much more to be concerned about than Ms. Jackson’s nipple. The lengths that some colleges go to in order to shield star athletes’ illegal experiences from the public are shameful. But usually a big amount of money is seen to be at risk if a college falls out of favor with the NCAA so the schools typically take their cues from NCAA in re: reactions over real or perceived rules violations. So then good for this guy- take his obviously talented wrestling skills to another college and enjoy the trophies and admiration that he has earned.

  • tony x

    @hf2hvit:

    posing nude does not make him gay or bi

  • Walter

    damn these red ovals!

  • casey

    how is this homophobic? the dude was caught posing for PORN. gay or straight, i’m pretty sure that goes against NCAA standards of being all wholesome and shit.

    this is not really a gay rights issue, more of an issue about general sexual prudness. im sure this kid would’ve been ousted even if he was posing for women. the problem is that americans are ashamed of sex all around, whether it involves homosexuality or heterosexuality. you can show someone getting stabbed, blown up, violently shot, or thrown of a cliff in a children’s movie but heaven forbid you say the word “penis.”

  • hf2hvit

    @tony x: And your typing words doesn’t make you intelligent.

  • FStratford

    I don’t see this as a gay rights issue. Clearly he violated NCAA rules. He is paid by the school through scholarships and cash allowances as a wrestler. It was stupid of him to throw all that $$ and a future degree just to get a couple 100 bucks from fratmen.

  • Torrie

    Mmmm… Paul is pretty dreamy!

  • Torrie

    Btw, anyone have the link to his solo at Fratmen?? Please??

  • kayakriver

    human sexuality is still taboo, gay or straight.

  • BlogZilla

    When is this country going to grow up and stop demonizing porn stars? It’s not easy to go out in the world and make it on your own. Most of us didn’t grow up like Paris Hilton.

    So what, he showed his family jewels? Why is that such a bad thing in many peoples eyes? Doesn’t everyone have sex. Aren’t we sexual beings?

    I really wish I was born somewhere else. The USA sucks.

  • BlogZilla

    @lcom Diggs:

    I’ve always wondered about this too. I can only guess the reason’s are because the USA is a patriarchal society, therefore logic and reason get thrown out the door when it comes to sexual equality and bias takes over. The double standard sticks because it turns straight men on to see two women bangin’ each other. (Remember, it wasn’t too long ago, historically speaking, that women couldn’t vote in this “free” country, just because they were women.) The double standard can be compared to the fact it’s ok for a guy to be a whore or be promiscuous, but it’s very taboo for a woman to be that way. It’s is known in the scientific community and biology community that’s it’s natural for a man to want to spread his genes far and wide (hence promiscuity) However women are supposed to be more picky about who they want fertilizing their eggs. And naturally they’re supposed to not just want any man doing that. That’s where that bias comes from.

    Also I don’t think most women are turned on by seeing two men together. If they are, they certainly aren’t very vocal about it.

    Another reason this annoying double standard sticks is the fact women don’t have penises to fuck with, so they can’t really spread any serious disease between each other or to others. I know it’s silly, but I feel that is what many straight men feel. There is a sense that they can only engage in mild sex with each other, or they are just kissing, cause they don’t have “poison arrow” appedages dangling between their legs like men do

  • darkmoonman

    What a crock. Other amateur college athletes get pain in schooling, cribbing, cars, memberships, and girls, but because they’re perceived as straight (yeah, sure, uhhuh), so that’s all okay.

  • Gus

    I try to think from the PR and Marketing POV which still encompass a large population who are closed minded and conservative, also from the school perspective but still it’s wrong, they can do what they want to do and the school can’t say anything because they are not promoting directly anything related to the institution. It sucks that this happened but also why the culprit the one who spoke out-loud hasn’t been reprimanded.?

  • Greg

    @Mike: So what if the site said that they were college wrestlers? That didn’t mean it was true. They could have been anybody. They weren’t using their real names, so how is that promoting themselves for financial gain?

  • murphy0071

    They tried that same shit with me at Concordia College in Portland, Oregon. The Dean of Men, after being asked if he has the right to privileged communication outright lied to me as is common jfor Evangelicals telling me that everything was completely confidential and no one would ever be told. Alfred Roth, who later became President of a campus in Canada, also shot his mouth off to the Office of Special Investigations of the Air Force and the school sent medical records to the Air Force to make certain I was thrown out where I already had the rank of lst Lt and was a distiguished military graduate. If you go to a “Christian” college and believe they will tell you the truth if you are homosexual, you can forget that. Alfred Roth of Portland, OR is a hypocrite and liar who should burn in hell along with the entire group of his friends at Concordia University who will lie about anything. Not only is he a liar,l he supported students who lied over truth that was scientifically proven. My roommate stole money from me and was caught “red handed” using thief’s powder in an old wallet that was completely clean except for some powder low in the wallet. He said I had spilled the thief’s powder, which had never been brought into the room and was prepared in a laboratory setting and then carefully wiped down before placing in the room. I would give his name, but he probably stole from every congregation he pastored in. Ministers are worse than the mafia.

  • KEVINVENTION

    For the record, YES, Donohoe has been arrested before, mostly of the drunk-college-dude variety (fighting, drunkeness, blah, blah, blah — much like his teammates and countless other college guys). ALSO (which no one seems to have mentioned), Donohoe’s Nebraska school insignia — which he has a tattoo of (I forget exactly where) — was clearly visible in one of the pics in Fratmen, although they (Fratmen )had promised to digitally remove all such references. Don’t know if this had anything to do with this whole thing coming to light, but…Regardless, this is Old News and I hope Paul (and Kenny) and their equally fine peens/bods have moved on to bigger and better things… 😉

  • Derek Williams

    What a top young bloke. Props to him.

  • wllmjunior

    The only crime here is that there is not enough of him to go around. An absolute stunner! I know where he can wrestle nightly, if it’s that important to him. Of course he will have quit another team first and join ours.

  • Dakotahgeo

    You need to understand that Nebraska higher education institutions mask the aura in which they exist and have been brought up in. Not all Nebraskans are gullible, ignorant, and/or arrogant. Having lived there for five years, I’ve experienced unbelieveable living in the Dark Ages there, while at the same time have experienced the most wonderful people possible, and they… THEY are truly embarrassed by their state!
    Nebraska will come around quite soon as a modern day culture. But until that happens, they will remain a three-ring circus for cheap entertainment!

  • Ryan

    “Great face. Awesome body. Huge tool. Open minded.”

    What are you talking about? The photo is covered up. You’re a fucking idiot. Does anyone have an UNCENSORED photo?

  • nakedjock

    —The whole controversy really is about the exposure…Money earned working on a Nebraska farm or business would have been ignored…even if their farmhand images were on YouTube; so, it really is not about the money. And, male nudity or sexually suggestive positions are really not the issue either…anybody that has watched a man on man wrestling match lately will agree. So, the bottom line is that the School Administrators feel that they don’t want the exposure. In reality the schools homophobic, ignorance, prejudice, nepotism and and discriminatory mindset has become exposed; the school official are not comfortable being exposed.

  • Pete

    The Fratmen site continues to tout him, right up there with Dustin Zito.

    I could give a rat’s ass about Zito, who’s an clown and publicity whore. But I’m sure Paul would like to put this whole chapter behind him. All I can say is I hope he’s getting some kind of royalties from them, because he’s certainly made them a whole lot more than the $2000 he was allegedly paid.

    There’s a good chance he could have gone to London last summer had his college career not been derailed.

  • Teleny

    What a nice young man…, If he was posing for an artist this would not have been a “scandal.”

  • Derek Williams

    Great guy, sorry what happened to him. I admire him for sticking to his principles and showing up those prudes for the asses they truly are.

  • KEVINVENTION

    Add Paul, another increasingly common cool Str8 Dude, to the long list of gay-friendly (or at least tolerant) straight guys who get villafied for having an association-by-proxy to gayness. It’s bad enough they go after us. This young guy learned the hard way (and triumphed!)a lesson most str8 guys never could. I have a feeling it gives him a new perspective on what it’s like to be outcast. GO,PAUL! I got your back, Bruh! ;_

  • Pete

    @hf2hvit: in your dreams . . .

    he was paid $2000 to masturbate to straight porn for your entertainment.

    coaching now. looks like he landed on his feet. seems like a real stand-up guy. wish him all the best.

    kenny had a much rougher time of it. transferred to purdue, went to fl on spring break with the wrestling team and fell off a 3rd story balcony. would have died if he hadn’t been trashed.

  • BikerPup

    Glad he was able to get to another school and compete again. A guy that good should notbe blocked and destroyed by a bunch of overly wrapped around the axle cornhuskers. I hope he goes far in life for it all too.

  • Dakotahgeo

    @dizzy spins: You must remember… NebrASSka is a northern-most southern state! 1800’s style.

  • Eiswirth

    Didn’t this happen about 10 years ago? Why is it being rehashed?

  • babybabybaby

    If that’s what he is into fine he is not hurting anyone if that’s his thing cool….

  • michiganstateofmind

    I saw the video with his buddy. he’s so sexy, I have the DVD I’m glad he got a second chance. They are rules when you apply for collage and jobs. Best of luck to him always.

Comments are closed.