The University of Louisville has reportedly agreed to pay nearly $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a former professor who was fired for criticizing transgender treatments for children experiencing gender dysphoria.
Dr. Allan Josephson worked for nearly 15 years as chief of the University of Louisville’s Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology. According to his legal complaint, Josephson was able to turn around the struggling division during his tenure and received perfect scores in his 2014-2016 annual reviews.
Despite his professional accomplishments, the complaint alleges that Josephson was demoted in 2017 and eventually fired after making comments in his own capacity challenging the push to use hormone therapy and surgery for children with gender dysphoria, according to legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
ADF, which represented Josephson in court, announced the settlement agreement Monday and hailed the case as a “major victory” for free speech.
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“I’m glad to finally receive vindication for voicing what I know is true,” Josephson also said in a statement. “Children deserve better than life-altering procedures that mutilate their bodies and destroy their ability to lead fulfilling lives. In spite of the circumstances I suffered through with my university, I’m overwhelmed to see that my case helped lead the way for other medical practitioners to see the universal truth that altering biological sex is impossibly dangerous while acceptance of one’s sex leads to flourishing.”
According to the complaint, the saga began in October 2017 when Josephson participated in a panel discussion on transgender ideology hosted by the conservative organization, The Heritage Foundation, in which he spoke out against gender ideology activism influencing the medical treatment of children experiencing gender dysphoria.
Upon learning of Josephson’s remarks, officials at the university’s LGBT center reportedly pressured his division to take disciplinary action against him.
Scrutiny of his views intensified after he appeared as an expert witness in a legal case involving a school district’s bathroom policy around gender identity.
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A few of Josephson’s colleagues who objected to his remarks pushed for the administration to take disciplinary action against him, the complaint says. The next month, Josephson was informed by the university that he was being demoted from chief of the division to a junior faculty member.
According to the complaint, university officials continued to “belittle and berate him,” inflicting “irreparable damage to his professional career and reputation,” and reduced his salary and benefits, before he was told in February 2019 that his contract would not be renewed, effectively firing him.
Josephson challenged his firing in a lawsuit against the university filed the following month. He alleged the school “retaliated” against him for expressing his views, in violation of his First Amendment rights and right to due process and equal protection under the law.
With the six-year legal battle resulting in a favorable settlement, Alliance Defending Freedom filed a stipulated dismissal of the case Monday, court records show.
“Hopefully, other public universities will learn from this that if they violate the First Amendment, they can be held accountable, and it can be very expensive,” ADF Senior Counsel Travis Barham said.
The University of Louisville declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital.
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