Austin Peay State U. Prof Fired for Sharing Crass Social Media Post About Kirk Assassination
“A faculty member of Austin Peay State University reshared a post on social media that was insensitive, disrespectful and interpreted by many as propagating justification for unlawful death”
All any of these people had to do to avoid being fired is to not say something horrible and they just couldn’t do it.
OKC FOX reports:
Austin Peay professor fired over social media post following Charlie Kirk’s death
Austin Peay State University (APSU) said they have dismissed Theatre Professor Darren Michael over a social media post following the Charlie Kirk assassination.
“A faculty member of Austin Peay State University reshared a post on social media that was insensitive, disrespectful and interpreted by many as propagating justification for unlawful death,” said APSU President Mike Licari.
Michael has been a professor at APSU since 2007, according to his LinkedIn. The university did not provide the post by Michael in their statement. See the full statement from the university below:
Austin Peay State University has fired Darren Michael, professor of Theatre, as a result of a post he shared on social media following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“A faculty member of Austin Peay State University reshared a post on social media that was insensitive, disrespectful and interpreted by many as propagating justification for unlawful death. Such actions do not align with Austin Peay’s commitment to mutual respect and human dignity. The university deems these actions unacceptable and has terminated the faculty member,“ said APSU President Mike Licari.
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Theatre
Oh no
“Insensitive” and “disrespectful” might be grounds for firing, but “propagating justification for unlawful death” is a protected opinion, and his including that among the grounds for firing gives the professor strong grounds for a lawsuit.
If a government entity can’t fire someone merely for saying that they hope the president is assassinated, then it certainly can’t simply for “justifying unlawful death”.
Now if they had framed the charge not as about the opinion expressed but as about how it would affect their ability to teach students who identify with the victim, and would worry that the professor wants them dead too, that would be different. In the original case the employee had no public contact, and only people within the police station knew about her opinion, so her ability to do her job wasn’t affected.
If this faculty member violated their social media policy (very likely part of the employment contract), then that faculty member should be fired.
Blah Blah Blah
When I hear Austin Peay”
I think of that Nat Cole song. Does Austin Peay offer shafaffah on the side?
https://youtu.be/KG2IojSam_U?si=TwQ46bIAKPOvB1oI
What do you bet this isn’t a one off? I don’t expect to agree with ever professor or teacher but respect and common courtesy towards all is not a high bar to clear