Judge backs UT Knoxville suspension of professor over Facebook posts celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death
A federal judge ruled that a University of Tennessee professor’s online comments about Charlie Kirk were not protected speech, allowing the university to keep her out of the classroom.
Following Kirk’s death, the professor wrote that 'the world is better off without him in it.'
A University of Tennessee at Knoxville professor cannot return to the classroom after the school suspended her for online comments following Charlie Kirk’s death.
Following Kirk’s death on Sept. 10, anthropology professor Tamar Shirinian posted to Facebook that “the world is better off without him in it.”
[RELATED: FAU reinstates professor suspended over Charlie Kirk posts]
“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*** for marrying him so I dont [sic] care about her feelings,” she continued.
Shirinian apologized for the comments after being placed on administrative leave on Sept. 15. She later filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the university in October.
Federal judge Katherine Crytzer ruled on Dec. 18 that Shirinian failed to demonstrate that her interest in commenting on Kirk’s death in the way she did outweighed “the state’s interest, as an employer,” The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
The judge also found that since Shirinian’s comments were on a political matter (Kirk’s death), but not political in nature (she didn’t engage with Kirk’s ideas), the dispute “falls outside of the First Amendment’s core.”
The university claimed that Shirinian threatened the school’s “academic environment,” and the court found that it “cannot determine that these assessments lack reasonableness.”
“Because Plaintiff has not shown that Defendants likely violated her First Amendment rights when she was placed on administrative leave, the Court denies her Motion,” the judge’s order says.
“We have filed a Motion to Reconsider, look forward to seeing what the Judge decides, and invite your readers to read all of the Court filings, as I know First Amendment issues are important to all Americans,” Robert Bigelow, Shirinian’s legal counsel, told Campus Reform.
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville declined to comment for this story.
In a separate case, the University of Mississippi has asked a judge to dismiss a First Amendment lawsuit filed by a staff member fired after comments about Kirk, citing the same public-employer speech principle.
In the University of Mississippi case, following the staff member’s comments about Kirk, the school determined that she “could not perform her job responsibilities” and that “her continued employment would inevitably disrupt the University’s operations.”
[RELATED: UConn professor with history of hateful posts drops f-bombs about Trump voters]
Other university faculty members have faced consequences following their online comments about Kirk.
Montana State University–Northern reinstated a professor in November, despite her comments that Kirk was a “misogynistic, racist, homophobic, xenophobic a--hole.”
The professor continued: “Holy sh--! Someone shot Charlie Kirk in the neck! Not condoning political violence, but maybe people are sick of the garbage he spews, perhaps?”
The professor will teach courses as scheduled initially next spring.
