Fired after teaching that the X and Y chromosomes determine sex, Dr. Johnson Varkey has been reinstated at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, Texas.
Last January, Varkey was notified of his termination in a Notice of Discipline and Termination of Employment and Contract letter.
In response, Varkey embarked on a year-long legal battle with the help of The First Liberty Institute. The nonprofit conservative Christian law firm defended the professor in a letter sent to the school.
“The college fired him for teaching basic and widely accepted concepts of biology,” the institute said. “We’re asking the college to immediately reinstate Dr. Varkey to his position and clear his record of any wrongdoing.”
In a disciplinary letter received from St. Philip’s, Liberty says the school criticized Varkey following complaints about his “religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter,”
LATEST STORIES
Allegedly, the letter from St. Philip’s stated that his lessons “pushed beyond the bounds of academic freedom with personal opinions that were offensive to many individuals in the classroom.
The New York Post reported that four students stormed out of the classroom when Varkey taught about the X and Y chromosomes.
Varkey is an active member of the Christian community who frequently volunteers at church.
In the letter from First Liberty, they accuse the university of punishing Varkey for his religious beliefs.
The firm said, “When decision makers at St. Philip’s College terminated Dr. Varkey, because of his religious beliefs and classroom statements about biology, they violated several federal and state laws, including the First Amendment, the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
The firm expressed concern over his termination, “Dr. Varkey is the latest example of an everyday American who lost his job to a toxic cancel culture that is infecting employers across the country.”
But, a year later, the Hindustan Times reports that St. Philip’s reinstated the professor.
After the long legal battle, Associate Counsel, Kayla Toney, celebrated the news.
“He is excited by this outcome, and we are glad that ACCD did the right thing,” Toney said. “Dr. Varkey looks forward to continuing to educate students at ACCD.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts to produce diverse content about the AAPI communities. We are supported in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
