Professor fired after tweeting about black privilege sues university | The College Fix
Negy, an associate professor of psychology, made headlines in the wake of George Floyd s May 2020 death after he tweeted: Black privilege is real: Besides affirm. action, special scholarships and other set asides, being shielded from legitimate criticism is a privilege.
He also tweeted: Sincere question: If Afr. Americans as a group, had the same behavioral profile as Asian Americans (on average, performing the best academically, having the highest income, committing the lowest crime, etc.), would we still be proclaiming systematic racism exists?
He has since deleted the tweets, but a petition demanding he be fired had garnered nearly 35,000 signatures and protesters even targeted him at his home.
After that, university leadership denounced Negy in emails to students and solicited complaints that culminated in the 22-year veteran educator s firing.
As a result of this sudden loss of income, Negy who is the sole caretaker of his mentally and physically disabled brother was forced to sell his home and move in with a relative, the lawsuit states.
Although he was awarded back pay through the arbitration, the lawsuit alleges the award cannot compensate Negy for the massive loss he incurred on the sale of his home; for the out-of-pocket medical expenses he faced after UCF s destruction of his life led him to be diagnosed with anxiety and depression; or for the severe emotional distress he suffered for nearly two years at the hands of UCF administrators who, because they disliked his political views, treated him as less than human.
The lawsuit also points out that because the arbitrator concluded the university had violated the collective bargaining agreement by denying Negy a six months termination notice, the arbitrator did not reach the second question of whether Negy was actually responsible for the misconduct of which UCF accused him.
He noted, however, that Negy s case raised issues such as effective use of protected free speech texts and announcement preinvestigation that Dr. Negy was a pariah in the view of the administration.
I hope Prof. Negy wins his lawsuit against UCF.