A Pullman City Councilman has accused the Washington State University athletic director of verbally attacking him and threatening his businesses over a social media video of a party at the athletic director’s home.
Councilman Al Sorensen told police WSU Director of Athletics Pat Chun and his wife stopped by Sorensen’s Pioneer Insurance office on Sept. 29 to cancel their insurance. A Pullman Police report shows Sorensen alleged Chun launched into a profanity-laden tirade during his visit.
“What have we done to offend you?” Sorensen quoted Chun as saying.
Sorensen told police Chun accused him of posting a video on Facebook from a party at Chun’s house where guests were not wearing masks. Chun also allegedly threatened to undermine Sorensen’s business relationships with the university.
“You are a f—er,” Sorensen quoted Chun to police. “Do you know how many people f—ing hate you? … I’m going to try to destroy you.”
Sorensen’s daughter told police she had posted the video showing the outside of Chun’s house during the party, according to reports. She said she was also present at the office when Chun started shouting at Sorensen and she deleted the party video soon after.
Whitman County Watch on Sunday obtained the police report and body camera footage of Sorensen’s interview via public records request. Chun and his wife do not have any statements included in the police report.
A WSU Athletics spokesman told Whitman County Watch that Chun declined to comment on this story.
Update, Nov. 3: In a declaration filed Tuesday, Chun called the allegations false and suggested the Pullman Police detective had a conflict of interest in investigation of the matter. Read the Spokesman Review’s follow-up story here.
Update 2, Nov. 3: Whitman County Watch today also obtained Chun’s full Nov. 2 declaration on the matter. Read it here. And see Pullman Police Det. Joshua Bray’s comment on the party video here.
In footage of his interview, Sorensen told police he feared Chun could use his position at WSU to pressure other employees or the university to avoid business with Pioneer Insurance or Sorensen’s wife’s downtown business, Flirt.
“I felt very threatened and verbally abused by all of this,” Sorensen said. “I believe that if I had stood up from my desk it would have gotten physical. … I was extremely well restrained.”
Records show Sorensen initially requested contact with police on Sept. 29 shortly after the alleged incident. He did not file a report then, but called back on Oct. 19 to make an official statement on the matter.
Sorensen told police he had heard the day before (Oct. 18) that Chun had made disparaging remarks about him to another insurance office. His statement to police also came one day after the highly contentious firing of Head Football Coach Nick Rolovich.
“I just want there to be a record of this,” Sorensen told police. “I wanted there to be a report on file to protect me.”
In his police interview, Sorensen did not indicate he wanted to pursue any charges, but said he wanted the Chuns banned from his home and business properties. Police records show an officer later informed Chun that he and his wife were trespassed from those locations indefinitely.
It’s unclear when the party in question at Chun’s home may have occurred. One Pullman Police officer noted he had seen the video while off-duty, prior to its deletion.
WSU Women’s Basketball Head Coach Kamie Ethridge paid a $150 ticket for holding an unmasked party at her home in August 2020 during a public health ban on large gatherings. That ban is no longer in effect, but WSU has continued to promote masking at social events.
Sorensen, a two-term councilman, is running for re-election to the City Council. Preliminary election results will be released Tuesday.
Over the last six years they have hired some real characters in admin over at Wazzu. The climate of fear and intimidation is real. I am very glad to be out of there.
Mike Leach? Is that you? Thought you were just sick of the winters up here🤣
Al Sorenson is a stain on Pullman. The sooner someone steps up to remove him from counsel the better.
Al Sorensen is the absolute man!
Well this timing is suspect. Why would he wait to contact PPD until the day after Rolovich is fired? If he was so afraid of Chun, he should have filed a police report three weeks prior, and requested a trespass then.
I understand our ADs position here. You can’t have things public since there is hypersensitivity by so many on so many subjects. He just tries to stay out of the limelight. It’s his right to get mad at someone just like that someone can post a video.
As a public figure for WSU and for enforcing masking and other guidelines, Chun should act accordingly outside of WSU especially if he is afraid of consequences of his actions. His actions reflect poorly on the school and on his support of the community he is a part of. The fact that he has no problem putting someone’s job at risk has been shown many times which tells me he isn’t to be trusted in how he runs the athletic department or even the words he says. The public has every right to post what they see, whether it be opinion or fact. It is in our constitution, so the video being posted of Chun going against the policies he preaches is not illegal or immoral in any way. All I see from this article is the true side of the AD coming out and a Pullman business owner and councilman standing up for his livelihood and the policies he supports that benefit the community he lives in.
Sorensen is WSU faculty so he too should be considered a “public figure” and held to a higher standard, not being part of a campaign to target another WSU employee, Chun, by filming and posting videos on FB. Let’s not pretend he’s just some hardworking insurance salesman as he has a nice $75K annual paycheck from WSU.
Sounds like Chun should resign since he can’t follow his own Covid protocols and he asks like a dangerous person in public
My question….Al Sorenson was at the same party. So I see this as two WSU employees who had a disagreement. I think the timing of everything stinks! But both are equally at fault and another should be in the Council. If it was his opponent I would think something different.
Spreading dirt on one of your clients and making a film of their house is a weasel move. And then the detective involved shows obvious bias with the case. Add the timing which is clearly retaliation right after outing of Rolo. We’ve already seen Al’s approach to combatting pandemics and racism. It’s self centered. WCW ought to look into how one gets a 45k promotion and assistant professor title from a lecturer teaching one class with a BS.