Oklahoma University Volleyball Player Forced Out For Conservative Views, Sues School
Speak up if it fits The Left’s narrative. Shut up if it doesn’t. That’s unfortunately what Americans and, in this case, college athletes have been told.
Meet Kylee McLaughlin. A brave, extremely talented former Oklahoma University volleyball player who was forced to redshirt and eventually transfer because her conservative views didn’t align with coaches and teammates, as reported by The Oklahoman.
McLaughlin detailed in court documents pending in the Oklahoma City Federal Court that she is suing the university along with head coach Lindsey Gray-Walton and her husband/assistant coach Kyle Walton a minimum of $75,000 for each of five complaints, including an infringement on her First Amendment rights.
After the death of George Floyd in May of last year, the team, like many others in the NCAA, began hosting discussions about white privilege and social justice.
She and her teammates were forced to watch the documentary “13th” that she believed slanted “left.”
Even though she factually and compassionately explained that “she agreed 100% that slavery was wrong and the slaves were mistreated;” and stated the disproportionate incarceration rates for blacks was “mostly for marijuana and drugs,” she was labeled racist.
Mclaughlin also tweeted that the University of Texas should not get rid of its fight song, “Eyes of Texas,” which she believed wasn’t racist and that it would be inappropriate for Texas to eliminate the tradition. Subsequently, her teammates and others called her racist on social media for that stance. She also claims her coach ordered her to delete the post.
She and many conservatives have consistently been cornered into proving that they are not racist when they stand against CRT and the deconstructionists of the Left. We can’t even talk anymore. It’s the Left’s way or the highway on college campuses.
Free speech is under attack on college campuses all across our nation, and athletes, along with their conservative classmates, are expected to “check their privilege” and buy into the woke social justice warrior initiatives that clearly divide us and have no foundation in facts or truth. This posturing has nothing to do with justice and equality. It is all virtual signaling, and McLaughlin had the courage to stand against it when no one else would.
After these incidents, McLaughlin claimed her coaches and Oklahoma University administrators told her she didn’t fit the program’s culture and gave her three options to continue (none of which involved playing time).
- Transfer to another university.
- Continue on scholarship as a typical student, not an athlete.
- Take a redshirt year, keep her scholarship and practice apart from the rest of the team
McLaughlin, a standout on the court, was Freshmen of the Year at Oregon State before transferring, a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection at Oklahoma, and played a key role in OU making their first NCAA tournament appearance in five years in the 2019 season. McLaughlin chose the third option, to take a redshirt year and keep her scholarship while practicing apart from the rest of the team.
During her redshirt season, she was forced to take more than 10 hours of online diversity and inclusion training for a mandatory “Growth Plan.”
After this debacle, Mclaughlin decided enough was enough and transferred to the University of Mississippi for her final year of eligibility.
As for the lawsuit, McLaughlin is requesting a judge assign a dollar amount to compensate for future economic loss after OU allegedly compromised her prospective career in professional volleyball, coaching, and athletics administration.
We need more athletes and patriots like Kylee McLaughlin. She was not going to be silenced. She was compelled by her conservative convictions to push back against woke politics and Critical Race Theory that forced its way into the OU locker room like it has the classroom. She knew that this was a risk, and as her lawsuit claims, her rights to free speech and due process were violated. Her coaches, the university, and her teammates cast her in a false light and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated on this fight for conservatives on campus and continue to share the truth about our nation’s history and its people, even if universities won’t.
