From the opinion released Oct. 21, 2025:
In the wake of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, an Emory professor posted certain comments about the assassination on social media—first writing "Good riddance," and then writing that they "[didn't] feel bad" about the assassination and that Kirk "seem[ed] like a disgusting individual." The Emory administration, characterizing these comments as celebrating and inciting violence, terminated the professor.
The Committee for Open Expression finds that most of the reasons given by Emory for the termination are inconsistent with Emory's Open Expression Policy (Policy 8.14).
- Inconsistency with Emory's values cannot itself be a reason for termination.
- People's mere distress that an Emory professor can make such statements cannot itself be a reason for termination.
- The Open Expression Policy cannot justify bowing to outsiders' efforts to put pressure on Emory to fire the professor by making threats to other members of the Emory Community.
- Patients' and parents'/students' distrust cannot justify termination when it is not based on actual patient care or the content of teaching.
- Violation of Emory's Social Media Guidelines cannot be the basis for termination, because these guidelines do not present themselves as being mandatory; and if they did, a termination cannot be based on the failure to provide a disclaimer in a context like this one, where a disclaimer would serve no useful purpose.
