Tech soccer player settles lawsuit claiming she was benched for refusing to kneel

Kiersten Hening claimed that Adair became angry when she refused to kneel in support of social justice initiatives, including the Black Lives Matter movement, at the start of a September 2020 game against the University of Virginia.

The civil case, which was scheduled to go to trial starting Jan. 18, has been settled, according to a brief notice filed Tuesday in US District Court in Roanoke.

After Judge Thomas Cullen turned down Tech’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying there were factual disputes for a jury to decide, a confidential settlement conference was held Dec. 20.

Court records do not include the terms of the settlement with Hening, who had asked to be reinstated to the team, among other things.

Had the case gone to trial, Hening would have argued that she was punished for exercising her First Amendment right to speak — in this case by not kneeling with most of her teammates when an ACC unity statement was played over loud speakers at the start of the UVa game.

The conference’s unity statement was created in the months after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, as the nation sought to address police brutality against Blacks.

Lawyers for Tech have maintained that Adair’s decision to limit Hening’s playing time was based solely on her substandard performance during the first half of the game.

“Coach Adair never told anyone or suggested to anyone that they needed to support Black Lives Matter,” they wrote in court papers.

Hening left the team after seeing little action in the next two games.

“Hening’s stance was costly — too costly,” her lawsuit stated. “Her coach dislikes Henning’s political views. Because she refused to kneel, he benched her, subjected her to repeated verbal abuse, and forced her off the team.”

Attorneys for Hening and Tech could not be reached immediately.

This story will be updated.