ACLU staffer fumes at university for accepting Nick Sandmann, calls it a 'stain' on the school: report

close

Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for September 8

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

An American Civil Liberties Union official in Kentucky chastised Transylvania University over the weekend for accepting Nicholas Sandmann as a student, calling the move a "stain" on the institution.

Sandmann made headlines back in January 2019 when a Native American activist stood in front of the teen and began chanting in his face during a pro-life rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Sandmann, who was wearing a MAGA hat at the time and is a supporter of President Trump, held his ground and smiled at the man as he continued to talk in his face.

“Does anyone else think it’s a bit of a stain on Transylvania University for accepting Nick Sandman [sic]? I’m sure it’s a “both sides” defense, but it’s pretty counter to their mission and another instance of there not actually being equal sides to an issue,” ACLU’s Samuel Crankshaw said in a Facebook post, according to The National Review.

The comment was temporarily taken down for an additional note to be added but was eventually restored and came back online. Crankshaw later reached out to Fox News and provided this brief statement:

"The views I expressed on my Facebook page are my personal views that I shared on my personal time," he said in an email. "I have a First Amendment right to express them just as Nick Sandmann has a First Amendment right to express his. My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my current or past employers. I will continue to express my views on my personal time."

Amber Duke, Deputy Director for the ACLU of Kentucky, also reached out to Fox News following the story's publication and provided a statement supportive of Crankshaw, but said his views do not necessarily represent that of the organization.

“These were personal views expressed on personal time on a personal Facebook account," she wrote in a statement. "The views in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the ACLU of Kentucky. As a stalwart defender of the First Amendment, the ACLU of Kentucky respects its employees' freedom to express themselves on their own time.”

COVINGTON CATHOLIC TEEN NICK SANDMANN SLAMS MEDIA, LEFT FOR 'CANCEL CULTURE' AFTER VIRAL VIDEO

Following the Lincoln Memorial confrontation , outlets such as CNN and The Washington Post were accused of purposely casting Sandmann –­ and his fellow Covington Catholic students –­ as the main aggressors with misleading reporting. Both outlets ultimately reached a legal settlement with Sandmann after he sued them in court for $250 million.

The defamation suit sought damages for the "emotional distress Nicholas and his family suffered" in the fallout of the network's reporting -- and lawyers for Sandmann have said they will target other major outlets who reported on the story in the same way.

An assistant professor and diversity scholar at Transylvania Unversity, Avery Tompkins, shared a comment on the post before it was taken down, calling Sandmann's “public behavior and rhetoric atrocious and uninformed," adding that the young student must accept his class as gospel, The National Review reported.

“We can’t not admit academically qualified students due to their political and personal views," he said. "If he ends up in my Intro class, fine. He might learn something that is actually based on research and evidence."

Tompkins added that Sandmann is part of groups that hold “anti-intellectualist views” and would see the professor "as part of some liberal brainwashing machine, but signing up for Transy and my class means he is required to learn that information, even if he disagrees.”

The professor continued: “If he were to cause problems by being disruptive, trolling, or engaging in unethical behavior of any kind, I would immediately document it (just like I would for any student doing the same thing)…and he would just be putting himself in a position for me to file a conduct report.”

Tompkins later issued an apology saying, “I want to apologize for my mistake in singling out a student and any misunderstandings that arose from that.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“One of my favorite things about working at a liberal arts institution is that our community has diverse perspectives,” he continued. “All students, faculty and staff are able to engage in civil discourse with those whose views may be different from their own, and to learn about those views in an academic setting. I value and support these conversations with students, and I know that students value these conversations with their peers as well.”

The university said in a statement to National Review on Tuesday that it would be reviewing the situation and that “Transylvania, like nearly every campus, is composed of those holding the full range of viewpoints.”