BLACKSBURG, Va. – A jury trial date has been set more than a year after a former soccer player at Virginia Tech filed a federal lawsuit against her coach.
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Kiersten Hening filed the lawsuit on First and Fourteenth Amendment grounds in March 2021 against Charles “Chugger” Adair, claiming that, “because she refused to kneel, he benched her, subjected her to repeated verbal abuse, and forced her off the team,” as we reported.
During a game in the 2020 season, players kneeled as a statement by the ACC was read, but Hening chose to remain standing. During halftime of that game, Adair allegedly “singled her out and verbally attacked her, pointed a finger directly in her face,” according to the lawsuit.
The next few games, Hening was removed from the starting lineup and was placed in a position she wasn’t used to playing, we reported.
The lawsuit stated that “Coach Adair’s campaign of abuse and retaliation made conditions for Hening so intolerable that she felt compelled to resign. Hening did not want to leave; but, given no real choice, she resigned on September 20.”
The jury trial for the case has been scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. January 18, 2023, according to court documents.
Read more about the events leading up to the lawsuit here.