Overview
- A committee of the University of Tennessee System Board of Trustees approved a $1.9 million settlement Monday to resolve Tamar Shirinian’s First Amendment lawsuit over social media remarks about Charlie Kirk.
- Shirinian was placed on administrative leave after posting that Kirk was a “disgusting psychopath” and writing that “the world is better off without him in it,” and she was fired on Feb. 11 without reinstatement.
- Shirinian sued the university claiming the discipline and firing violated her constitutional free-speech rights and sought court-ordered discovery about a reported donor threat to pull a $10 million gift if she remained employed.
- Board Chair John Compton and trustees said the settlement was chosen to avoid further time, expense, and distraction from litigation, but the deal still requires approval by the full board and state officials including the governor.
- The case joins a string of recent higher-education disputes over post-Kirk comments that have ended in monetary payouts rather than reinstatement, raising questions about how public universities balance free speech, campus safety, donor pressure, and legal costs.