Senator causes stir by reading profanity

State Senator Scott Brown, a rising star in the state's depleted Republican ranks, yesterday defended his use of profanity during a student assembly at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham, saying he simply repeated hateful statements that had been posted online about him and his family.

"I was merely reading the things that they had written about me," Brown said in an interview. "What's the issue, exactly? I don't quite know what the big deal is, exactly."

Brown, the father of "American Idol" finalist Ayla Brown, read the postings Thursday -- and, in some cases, identified the students he believed had written them -- during a meeting with about 80 sophomores who had invited him to discuss his opposition to same-sex marriage.

School officials said he crossed the line.

"The big deal is that his remarks and the use of profanity and the using of names were inappropriate in a school setting," Richard Robbat, superintendent of King Philip Regional School District, said yesterday.

Robbat said Brown apologized to him after the speech. Robbat declined to comment on whether the Wrentham senator would be welcomed back at the school.

It was not the first time that Brown, a lawyer with the Massachusetts National Guard, has wandered into controversy.

He touched off a political firestorm in 2001 when he disparaged Democratic state Senator Cheryl Jacques and her domestic partner, Jennifer Chrisler, for deciding to have children. In an interview with the Globe, Brown said it was "not normal" for two women to have a baby. He also dismissed Jacques's role in the relationship as her "alleged family responsibilities." He later backed off his statements, saying he chose the wrong words .

He enjoyed a more flattering moment in the spotlight in 1982, when, at 22, he was designated "America's sexiest man" by Cosmopolitan Magazine.

In recent months, Brown, a state senator since 2004, has been eyed as a potential challenger to run against US Senator John F. Kerry in 2008. Last year, he was also among the top three candidates to become Kerry Healey's running mate in her failed run for governor.

Yesterday, Brown said his speech in the school library has been blown out of proportion. Brown appeared on at least two radio shows to defend himself, saying the messages he read were a small part of his speech.

Some of the messages, posted on the social networking site Facebook.com, used profanity and made reference to his family, he said. Brown's daughter is a basketball player at Boston College. The comments were posted on a page dedicated to a history teacher at the high school who supports gay rights and have since been removed.

"A couple of people objected to the language, and I said, 'I object, too,' " Brown said. "It's offensive, in that I now have to justify why I repeated what kids said about me, as if I'm doing something inappropriate. "

Brown told Statehouse News Service that he used the "F-word" twice.

Republican leaders are supporting Brown.

"It's understandable that a parent would get angry when their child is attacked in a way such as Senator Brown's daughter was," said Republican Party chairman Peter Torkildsen. "Senator Brown has said that if he had it to do again, he wouldn't repeat all the derogatory words.

"But if someone is willing to write nasty comments and sign their name to them, then it's appropriate to hold those people accountable for their comments," Torkildsen said. "I believe that is what Senator Brown intended to do."

Students who heard Brown speak said he read the profane statements "loudly and pretty angrily."

"Some teachers immediately were outraged to hear the language that was used," student Stephen Small told WHDH-TV. "Some people still feel it was inappropriate to read them word for word."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.