UCF versus the conservative professor: Judge dismisses some, not all, counts in lawsuit

A federal Judge kept alive a lawsuit against the University of Central Florida (UCF) — though with some counts dismissed — as a conservative professor sues the school, accusing UCF of violating his freedom of speech.

“Although the plaintiff (Charles Negy) made statements that offended a significant portion of the UCF population, the First Amendment protects speech without regard for its social worth or if it is acceptable in the mainstream Nowhere is this more important than at an institution of higher learning,” U.S District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza wrote in an order late last month.

UCF investigated Negy and then unsuccessfully tried to fire the tenured professor, after he wrote a book on White shaming and posted some controversial tweets. Using his personal account, Negy wrote one post in 2020 that said “Blacks are not systematically oppressed in the United States.” That started his troubles with the school.

Negy eventually won his job back with the union’s backing through an arbitrator’s ruling. Negy, who has taught psychology at UCF since 1998, sued UCF in federal court last year.