Federal judge Thomas Cullen, for the Western District of Virginia, ruled that Kiersten Hening’s First Amendment rights for refusing to engage in the protest may have been violated by Coach Charles ‘Chugger’ Adair on December 2.
Hening filed a lawsuit in which she argued that she was penalized by Adair for her political beliefs. The judge has agreed that the matter can now go to trial.
The soccer player said her minutes on the field were shortened dramatically after she refused to take part in a “unity statement” regarding the Black Lives Matter movement.
Hening, who played in midfield for Virginia Tech, alleged in a lawsuit last year that she was “verbally attacked” by Adair after she refused to take the knee.
What is Kiersten Hening alleging?
Hening has claimed that her treatment by the coach was so bad she was forced to quit the team as her life had been made unbearable.
In the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, a “unity statement” from the Atlantic Coast Conference was read over a loudspeaker before Virginia’s home game against the University of Florida.
Hening has alleged in her lawsuit: “All starters, including Hening, were standing on the field at the time. While other starters knelt during the unity statement to mirror [former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protests] and express support for [the Black Lives Matter movement], Hening remained standing.”
Hening has claimed that Adair targeted her at halftime and was hostile towards her and not the other players who remained standing as she was not a scholarship athlete.
She continued in the lawsuit: “At the next opportunity—halftime of the Virginia game—Coach Adair berated Hening for her stance.
“He singled her out and verbally attacked her, pointing a finger directly in her face.”
The lawsuit alleges that Adair said Hening was “b****ing and moaning and ‘doing her own thing.’’
The lawsuit added: “Coach Adair’s tirade was so extreme, so personally directed at Hening, and so disconnected from the game itself, that her teammates approached her afterward to comfort her and express their shock.”
What does Kiersten Hening say about BLM?
In the court documents, Hening says that she “supports social justice and believes black lives matter,” but not “BLM the organization.”
She adds that the reason why is because of its “tactics and core tenets of its mission statement including defunding the police.”
What did Hening’s teammates do after her stance?
The lawsuit also revealed that messages had been exchanged privately but shared with coaching staff.
It reads: “Someone took a screenshot of some of these private messages between girls on the team and shared them with the coaching staff.
“Some of Hening’s teammates also saw the messages and became outraged.”
Adair was then allegedly called upon by member of the team, in September 2020, to address the comments made by Hening on social media.
The lawsuit continues: “Coach Adair’s campaign of abuse and retaliation made conditions for Hening so intolerable that she felt compelled to resign. Hening did not want to leave.
“As a result of her coach’s actions, Hening can no longer play the game she loves, despite having two more years of NCAA eligibility.
“This Court should vindicate Hening’s constitutional rights and award her legal and equitable relief.”
What did the judge rule?
Judge Cullen ruled that there was sufficient evidence to show that Hening’s playing time had dropped with her playing, on average, 76 minutes a game as a freshman, 88 minutes a game as a sophomore but only 29 minutes in her final season, with her last game only lasting five minutes.
Cullen wrote: “Ultimately, Adair may convince a jury that this coaching decision was based solely on Hening’s poor play during the UVA game, but the court, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Hening, cannot reach that conclusion as a matter of law.
“While the US Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit may not have addressed the novel factual circumstances presented here — i.e. a college coach allegedly retaliating against a player for refusing to kneel with her coaches and teammates in support of perceived unity and social justice — the core Constitutional principle is both clearly established and fundamental to a free society, and especially to an institute of higher education.”
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