Michael Phillips had claimed that his constitutional rights were violated when he was let go over his criticism of the college’s COVID-19 policies and for suggesting that students wear masks. He also alleged he’d been retaliated against after co-authoring an op-ed that advocated for the dismantling of Dallas’ Confederate monuments.
Phillips’ contract, which the school opted not to renew, ended in May 2022.
Greg Greubel, an attorney with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, called the jury’s verdict “very disappointing.” Jurors found that the choice to not renew Phillips’ contract had been motivated by protected speech, but that the school “would have made the same decision in the absence of that speech,” he explained.
Regardless of the outcome, Greubel believes that Phillips did the right thing.
“He stood up for what he believed in and he continued to stand up for what he believed in — all the way through getting a decision from a jury, and that's a really courageous thing that he's done,” he said. “I'm incredibly proud to represent him and to have represented all the other professors as well.”
Phillips declined the Observer’s request for comment.
Several other former Collin College employees have claimed that the school has violated their constitutional rights. Former Collin history professor Lora Burnett’s FIRE-backed case ended in her favor; she accepted the school's offer to pay her $70,000 plus attorneys’ fees. Burnett had alleged that she’d been fired in part for posting mean tweets about then-Vice President Mike Pence.
“He [Dr. Michael Phillips] stood up for what he believed in and he continued to stand up for what he believed in." – Greg Greubel, attorney
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And FIRE helped Suzanne Jones get reinstated at Collin College after the education professor claimed she was terminated for criticizing the school’s pandemic response, among other alleged constitutional infringements.
FIRE has gone to bat for faculty across the ideological divide, including by calling on the University of Texas at Dallas to drop an investigation into a professor who suggested in a tweet that “we ... try to find a cure for homosexuality.”
Reached for comment about the Phillips case, a Collin College spokesperson sent a statement explaining that the school had long “vehemently disagreed” with the history professor’s version of events.
“We respect the judicial process and are extremely pleased that the jury in this case agreed with the position of Collin College and other defendants,” the school wrote. “Despite repeated attacks by the plaintiff, his supporters, and various advocacy groups with their own agendas, this case resulted in a legal victory, including affirmation that the college’s policies are not unconstitutionally vague as alleged.”
For the past three years running, Collin College has been named one of FIRE’s 10 worst schools for free speech.
In May, the American Association of University Professors formally censured Collin College after it determined that “egregious” academic freedom violations had been leveled against Phillips, Burnett and Jones.
Greubel said there were opportunities for Phillips to try to settle the lawsuit but that it was important for him to attempt to hold the school accountable. “And the best way to do that was through a jury verdict,” he said.
Attacks on free expression continue to unfold across the country, Greubel continued. If professors take a position that’s at odds with their administration, they sometimes will be ordered to refrain from talking about it publicly. To FIRE, that’s a major problem, but it’s one that can’t be solved overnight.
The way Greubel sees it, Phillips should be commended for his bravery, particularly given the political realities of Texas today.
“Like I said, we lost on the same-decision defense, but it doesn't take away the fact that there at least was a finding that protected speech did motivate the decision,” he said. “And I hope that it inspires other folks to stand up for themselves.”
