A Big Fight About Free Speech
A college teacher named Joshua Bregy got fired from Clemson University last fall. He lost his job because he shared a post on Facebook about a man named Charlie Kirk who had died. The teacher was sad he lost his job, so he went to court to fight for his right to speak freely.
Now, the teacher and the school have made a deal to stop fighting. Another teacher and a helper also lost their jobs for talking about the same thing on the internet, but they did not go to court to fight the school.
The Deal Between the Teacher and the School
Under the new deal, the teacher has to quit his job on May 15. Until that day comes, the school will keep giving him his normal pay and doctor benefits. The school records show he makes $91,190 a year.
Even though he is getting paid, he cannot go into the classrooms, do science projects, or talk to the students at the school anymore. If he tries to get money for new science projects, he can still say he works at Clemson. Also, the school bosses promised to say nice things about him when he looks for a new school job.
A lawyer named Allen Chaney helped the teacher. He said he was happy they made a deal that protects the rules about free speech. He said that school bosses come and go, but the laws of our country stay forever. A school speaker named Joe Galbraith said both sides must follow the rules of the deal to make it official.
Why Did the Teacher Get Fired?
The trouble started when a man named Charlie Kirk was shot and killed by a bad person at a school in Utah. Charlie Kirk was a person who talked a lot about politics on the internet. After he died, the teacher shared a post on Facebook. The post said hurting people is bad, but it also said that bad choices can bring bad luck.
Some students who liked Charlie Kirk found the post and shared it on the internet for everyone to see. They also showed pictures of the teacher holding signs for Black Lives Matter and climate change. Then, important government workers saw it and got very mad. They told the school board they needed to fire the teacher right away.
At first, the school said they did not like what the teacher wrote, but they knew he had a right to say it. But the government leaders kept yelling at the school. So, the school board changed their minds and stopped the teacher from working. The next day, they fired him because they said he was not being respectful to the school.
Other Teachers Lose Their Jobs Too
This is happening all over the country. Many school workers are losing their jobs for writing mean things about Charlie Kirk after he died.
Some teachers are winning their jobs back by going to court. One smart teacher in Tennessee got his job back and the school had to give him $500,000! Other workers are still waiting for judges to help them.
Police in Utah found the man who shot Charlie Kirk. His name is Tyler Robinson, and he is 22 years old. He went to a special trade school. A friend told the police that Tyler said he did the bad thing, so the police locked him up in jail.
Schools Across America Say No to Mean Comments
Many big government leaders, including Donald Trump, got angry at the schools. Donald Trump said that these schools were teaching bad things and should not get any more government money. This made schools feel very scared, so they started firing people quickly.
- Austin Peay State University: A theater teacher was fired for sharing a mean post, but he later got a big check to fix the mistake.
- University of Miami: A worker was sent away for saying things that the school did not think were polite.
- Guilford Technical Community College: A teacher named Lisa Greenlee told her online class that she was glad the shooter had good aim. Someone made a video of her saying this, and the school fired her the next day because they do not like violence.
- Cumberland University: Two workers named Michael Rex and Max Woods were fired for writing bad things online. Michael Rex wrote an apology later and said nobody deserves to be hurt, but he still lost his job.
- Other Schools: Workers at Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Mississippi were also sent away for the exact same reason.
🎓 MORE BLOG POSTS: