Tue Dec 13, 2022 – 5:34 pm ESTTue Dec 13, 2022 – 6:33 pm EST
(LifeSiteNews) — A former Virginia Tech soccer player who was benched and later quit after refusing to participate in a social justice demonstration can proceed with her lawsuit against the team’s coach, a federal judge announced December 2.
Kiersten Hening, a midfielder-defender for the Hokies from 2018 until 2020, sued Charles Adair in 2021 after he allegedly berated her during halftime and later reduced her playing time for not kneeling during a pregame “unity statement” when the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was at its peak.
Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump-appointee, ruled against Adair’s motion to dismiss the case earlier this month, writing that “Adair’s conduct towards Hening — publicly chastising her, removing her from the starting lineup, and reducing her playing time — would tend to chill a person of ordinary firmness’s exercise of her First Amendment rights.”
Hening was one the team’s best athletes, playing an average of 76 minutes per game and starting 19 of them as a freshman in 2018. As a sophomore, she averaged almost the full 90 minutes, starting 18 games. The game following her
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