The University of Tennessee at Knoxville reached a $1.9 million settlement with a former professor who was fired after she criticized slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Tamar Shirinian, who had been an anthropology professor at the university, sued the university’s chancellor, the state university system president and the faculty senate president, claiming that the school violated her constitutional rights by retaliating against her. Her lawsuit said her speech was protected by the First Amendment.
The settlement, which was approved Monday night in a meeting of the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees Audit and Compliance Committee, does not restore her faculty position. Some other people have prevailed in similar First Amendment cases.
Jacob Gaba, a legal fellow with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said the group is aware of 17 cases brought on First Amendment grounds by people who were fired or penalized in some way for comments about Kirk. Of those, at least seven cases have been settled. But many people have not kept their jobs, he said.
Kirk, who co-founded the influential conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and was a close ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot while speaking at an event at a university in Utah in September. After the shooting — which was caught on video and widely shared on social media — hundreds of people across the country were punished for speaking out about it, according to a Reuters investigation which found that more than 600 people had been suspended, fired, disciplined or investigated in a sweeping backlash.
Shirinian wrote in a private Facebook post after the shooting, “The world is better off without him in it. Even those who are claiming to be sad for his wife and kids …. like, his kids are better off living in a world without a disgusting psychopath like him and his wife, well, she’s a sick f*#k for marrying him so I don’t care about her feelings.”
Someone forwarded her post to a state representative who had lashed out at people in higher education who were critical of Kirk’s views. Within days of the shooting, campus Chancellor Donde Plowman began termination proceedings.
Shirinian did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
State officials must approve the settlement before it is final.
John Compton, the chair of the University of Tennessee board, said at Monday’s meeting that any continuing litigation would require significant time, attention and financial resources, and those resources would be better directed toward advancing the institution’s mission, vision and values.
Robb Bigelow, Shirinian’s attorney, called the agreement a “mutually acceptable resolution.”
“We think it recognizes the seriousness of the issues, while avoiding the time, expense and stress of continued litigation. We wish the university nothing but the best as everyone moves forward,” Bigelow told The Washington Post.
Next week, the man accused in Kirk’s killing, Tyler Robinson, is expected in court for a preliminary hearing at which prosecutors will outline evidence against him.
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