From Beathard v. Lyons, decided Thursday by Judge James Shadid (C.D. Ill.):
The following facts are taken from Plaintiff's Complaint, which the Court accepts as true for the purposes of a motion to dismiss. Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that he was terminated from his position because of his viewpoint on a matter of public concern—the Black Lives Matter Movement ("BLM"). Plaintiff was employed by Illinois State University ("ISU") as a football coach. In mid-August of 2020, ISU's Athletic Department printed posters for the BLM Movement. Many staff members pasted the poster onto their doors, and one was pasted onto Plaintiff's office door. An image of the poster has been reproduced below:
Plaintiff removed the poster from his door and replaced it with one that embodied his own personal beliefs on the matter. An image of Plaintiff's poster ("replacement poster") has been reproduced below:
