Original Article By Kaelan Deese At WashingtonExaminer.com:
A former Virginia Tech soccer player who alleged her coach cut her playing time when she refused to kneel during a pregame social justice demonstration will receive $100,000 under a federal settlement.
The money will go to ex-teammate Kiersten Hening as part of an agreement to dismiss a federal lawsuit in which she claimed she was punished for exercising her First Amendment rights to not participate in the pregame demonstration, according to her lawyer Cameron Norris.
Norris told the Roanoke Times that terms of the settlement did not include an admission of wrongdoing by either Hening or Charles Adair, head coach of the Virginia Tech women’s soccer team.
Attorneys for Adair maintained his decision to reduce Hening’s playing time in subsequent games was due to poor performance on the soccer field.
“I am pleased the case against me has been closed and I am free to move forward clear of any wrong doing,” Adair wrote in a tweet Wednesday.
“It’s unfortunate, but this ordeal was about a disappointment and disagreement about playing time,” he added. “Today, we have clarity that this case lacked any standing, and without evidence, the truth has prevailed.”
The $100,000 settlement was not mentioned in the coach’s tweet. Court records presently don’t detail the terms of the settlement, which Norris said must have final approval by the university before it becomes official.
The lawsuit stemmed from Hening’s specific refusal to kneel during a social justice demonstration in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. Hening contends she supports social justice initiatives but does not believe in the BLM organization’s mission statement , which includes defunding police and criticizing the nuclear family framework, her lawsuit argues.
Prior to the settlement, U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen gave Hening a court victory when he denied a motion by Virginia Tech to have the case dismissed in December. A trial was slated to begin early this month, but the latest court filings state only: “Case settled.”
After an Atlantic Coast Conference unity statement was recited over loudspeakers at Virginia Tech’s 2020 season opener, Hening remained standing while most of her teammates knelt on the field. Adair allegedly voiced his anger at her during halftime and then benched her until the end of the match, according to the lawsuit’s claims.
Attorneys for the Virginia Tech coach said they’d provide evidence showing two other players declined to kneel at the same game and suffered no negative consequences from their coach.
But Hening’s counsel was prepared to argue there was no reason other than her conservative political views and disagreement with BLM to explain why she went from starting in her first two years of college to spending most of the time on the bench after her refusal to kneel.
The Washington Examiner contacted Norris for response.
