Austin Peay State University in Tennessee will reinstate and pay a $500,000 settlement to a professor it had fired over a social media post he made after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
The settlement also calls for the university to reimburse Darren Michael, an associate professor of acting and directing, for counseling he sought after being fired.
The professor was fired in September and returned to class full time in December, according to WKRN-TV.
“It was a very, very traumatic circumstance for him and his family,” Mr. Michael’s lawyer, David King, told the New York Times.
On Sept. 10, the day of Kirk’s death, Mr. Michael posted a simple “…” on Facebook along with a screenshot of the headline of a Newsweek article from April 2023 that quoted comments Kirk made at a Turning Point USA event.
Specifically, Newsweek quoted Kirk as saying, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment,” just days after the shooting at Christian Covenant School in Nashville that killed three children and three adults.
Mr. Michael’s post was reposted by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee Republican, on Sept. 12. Ms. Blackburn tagged the university in a social media post, writing, “What do you say, Austin Peay State University?”
Mr. Michael’s termination letter was dated the same date as Ms. Blackburn’s post, according to Clarksville Now.
In addition to the reinstatement and the reimbursement, the settlement also requires Austin Peay State University to make a statement “acknowledging regret for not following the tenure termination process,” according to WKRN-TV.
Austin Peay State University President Mike Licari emailed the school community on Dec. 30 and said the school “did not follow the required tenure termination process in this matter, and I deeply regret and apologize for the impact this has had on Professor Michael and on our campus community. I am committed to ensuring that due process and fairness are upheld in all future actions,” according to Clarksville Now.
