Texas philosophy professor Idris Robinson said he was breathing a bit easier this week nearly halfway through what he called \u201cthe most stressful month of fatherhood so far\u201d.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because Robinson was faced with losing his paycheck from Texas State University beginning 31 May, along with his academic affiliation, after he was fired for a talk he gave in another state on what he called \u201cthe liberation of Palestine\u201d. The incident would have made it nearly impossible for him to find another job teaching \u2013 all with a 16-month-old son at home.<\/p>\n
But then Trump-appointed district court Judge Alan Albright ruled in his favor this week and ordered Texas State to continue paying him for another year or until his lawsuit against the school reaches an outcome, whichever comes first. The state \u201cput Dr. Robinson\u2019s career in grave danger by violating his First Amendment rights\u201d, Albright wrote in his decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the right decision,\u201d Robinson said in an interview. \u201cI didn\u2019t do anything wrong. I do my job and I do it well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The complaint, reported<\/a> by the Guardian in March, alleges that the school violated Robinson\u2019s constitutional rights by ending his contract after a 2024 talk he gave in North Carolina on Palestine and Israel. A fight broke out before he could finish the talk. Neither Robinson nor anyone else at the event mentioned his job at the university.<\/p>\n Toward the end of the hour-long hearing on Tuesday, Albright highlighted that \u201cthe state really hasn\u2019t made an effort to argue that the speech that the plaintiff gave [wasn\u2019t] in some role or another a motivating factor\u201d in the university\u2019s decision to terminate his contract, according to Yarden Azoulay Katz, a member of Robinson\u2019s legal team who attended.<\/p>\n The decision in favor of continuing to pay Robinson is a \u201cshot across the bow for many universities who have violated free speech rights\u201d, said Zach Greenberg, director of Faculty Legal Defense at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), an organization with local counsel involved in the case. \u201cIt bodes well for academic freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n The university\u2019s termination of Robinson\u2019s contract was \u201can adverse action, carried out for an unlawful reason\u201d, said Samantha Harris, his attorney. The judge\u2019s decision not only made Robinson\u2019s near future a lot brighter \u2013 \u201cit also showed there\u2019s a substantial likelihood of success with regard to Dr Robinson\u2019s claim of first amendment retaliation,\u201d said Harris, who has worked on such claims for two decades.<\/p>\n Prior to this incident, Robinson had four years of stellar performance reviews, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n Robinson pointed out that others in academia have been disciplined for speech on Palestine, as well as other subjects, such as Charlie Kirk\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope [the judge\u2019s decision] sets a precedent \u2013 so people see they can stand up and fight, see things out to the end,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n