Professor Reaches $1.9 Million Settlement After Being Fired Over Post About Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

A former University of Tennessee assistant professor who was fired after she made a social media post about the killing of Charlie Kirk has reached a $1.9 million settlement to resolve her lawsuit.Since Kirk’s assassination last September, roughly 600 people have been fired, suspended, or disciplined over posts they made about the late conservative commentator and activist. Many of those fired or disciplined filed lawsuits, and as of May, about $2 million in settlements had been offered.In February, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville fired an anthropology professor, Tamar Shirinian. She sued the university’s chancellor and state university system, alleging that her termination was a form of retaliation for her post about Kirk.Ms. Shirinian wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post, “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 [expletive] for marrying him so I don’t care about her feelings.”Ms. Shirinian insists her post was private. But the message was discovered and shared online, sparking outrage among Republicans and conservatives. The University of Tennessee chancellor, Donde Plowman, said in the letter firing Ms. Shirinian that while she thought her “unfortunate social media posting” was private, “millions of people associated your words with the University.”“If your message had advocated a political position or engaged in civil debate, I would have a different perspective. Instead, your words celebrated a gruesome murder, which horrifically took place on a college campus similar to our own,” Ms. Plowman said. On Monday, the university’s Board of Trustees’ Audit & Compliance Committee approved a $1.9 million settlement for Ms. Shirinian. The settlement does not include reinstatement. Ahead of the vote on a payout, the chairman of the board, John Compton, recused himself. After the settlement was approved, he told board members he believed that “any continuing litigation would require significant time and attention, and financial resources,” which would be “better directed towards advancing the institution’s mission.”An attorney for Ms. Shirinian, Robb Bigelow, said in a statement that he believes the settlement “appropriately recognizes the seriousness of the issues presented while avoiding the time, expense, and stress of continued litigation.”The deal will have to be approved by the full board and state officials, including Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. Last year, Austin Peay State University at Clarksville, also in Tennessee, reached a settlement to pay $500,000 to an associate professor of acting and directing, Darren Michael, after he was fired over a social media post about Kirk.

Professor Reaches $1.9 Million Settlement After Being Fired Over Post About Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

Professor Reaches $1.9 Million Settlement After Being Fired Over Post About Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

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