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Thursday, November 7, 2024

Michigan teacher-coach says he was fired for pro-Trump comments

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A high school baseball coach from Walled Lake claims he was fired over a political tweet. | Pixabay

A high school baseball coach from Walled Lake claims he was fired over a political tweet. | Pixabay

Justin Kucera, a former high school social studies teacher and baseball coach at Walled Lake Western High School, during an interview on the Frank Beckmann Show, agreed that school officials had been less than fair in firing him for making pro-Donald Trump tweets.

However, in the interview, little mention was made of the tweet comment that allegedly was the lightning rod for his dismissal: “Liberals suck, man.”

“There were three tweets that I was questioned on originally when I was fired,” Kucera told Beckmann.

A report in the The Oakland Press said Kucera tweeted on July 6 in favor of Trump and called for schools to be reopened after their closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic. One tweet read, “I’m done being silent. Donald Trump is our president,” and a reply to a follower's tweet said, “Liberals suck, man.” Yet another demanded, “Schools must open in the fall!!!”

The tweets generated emails from concerned citizens, and district officials discussed the matter with Kucera via Zoom on July 10.

Documents revealed that Kucera had been placed on probation last October and received counseling for allegedly failing to report to work and failing to notify school officials of his absence, according to The Oakland Press.

During a meeting with Assistant Superintendent Michael Lonze, Kucera reportedly told him the "liberals suck" remark was meant to be “sarcastic,” and he posted it because he had received a lot of criticism for his support of Trump. He said he deleted the tweet when he realized sarcasm doesn't translate well on Twitter.

He told officials, including Walled Lake Schools Superintendent Kenneth Gutman and Walled Lake Western High School Principal Ali Hamka, that he was sorry.

On July 15, Kucera was offered the chance to resign and told by school officials that if he did, the district would give him a letter of recommendation without mentioning the incident and continue his health benefits through August. If he did not resign, a termination process would begin.

Kucera sent an email saying he would not resign. He was then fired, allegedly for “lack of professional judgement.”

However, Gutman called Kucera on July 22, the report said, and indicated he could save Kucera’s job if he agreed to some form of punishment.

Kucera declined, saying the issue had grown to the point where it could compromise his ability to be an effective teacher.

During the interview, Beckmann referred to the remark Kucera had made about “liberal ideology.” Kucera didn't comment on that, but said the conversations with school officials had been conducted without a teacher’s union representative present.

“It was completely off the record,” he said. “He (the superintendent) offered me my job back, but it was with conditions, and I think that was the big difference. He wanted me to admit some wrongdoing and accept some penalties.”

The penalties potentially included docked pay and social media training, Kucera added.

Kucera said his decision not to accept was based on his belief that having initially been fired, it would only validate rumors that were circulating about him.

Beckmann asked Kucera what his future plans were.

“I’m leaving my options open,” Kucera told Beckmann. “I’m looking for a new career at this point. I'd still love to coach, but I think I'd have to teach to coach.”

Kucera agreed with Beckmann’s assertion he was fired over some “silliness” and in the wrong manner, and that district officials realized they were wrong, but it was too late.

“This even goes back to a lack of union representation,” Kucera said. "If they had fought harder for me, maybe none of us would be in this position... I’m probably looking for a new career,” he repeated.     

         

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