BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech Director of Athletics and Hokie athletes have released statements regarding a recent lawsuit against a Virginia Tech soccer coach.
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The statements, both released on Monday, Jan. 9, come after a settlement was reached after a former Virginia Tech soccer player sued her coach, claiming he forced her off the team for not kneeling before a game.
[ORIGINAL STORY: Former Virginia Tech soccer player sues coach, saying he forced her off team for not kneeling before a game]
As we reported, Kiersten Hening filed a federal lawsuit against Head Coach Charles “Chugger” Adair on March 3, 2022, claiming that, “because she refused to kneel, he benched her, subjected her to repeated verbal abuse, and forced her off the team.”
The lawsuit claims that Adair’s actions, as an actor of Virginia, violated Hening’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, we reported.
In the statement posted on Sons of Saturday, 76 current and former players of the VT Women’s Soccer program came together to comment on the suit, saying the allegations that were made in the lawsuit were “baseless allegations” and instead were “nothing more than a distorted representation of the facts.”
You can read the full statement below.
We are a group of current and former players of the Virginia Tech Women’s Soccer Program. But we are so much more than that. We are teachers, physicians, nurses, professional athletes, moms, engineers, lawyers, corporate leaders, scientists and much more. And we firmly stand with our Coach, Charles “Chugger” Adair, against what we believe are baseless allegations made against him. We have spent countless hours training, traveling and playing under his leadership and are devastated and appalled to see his character and integrity severely impugned.
As current and former players, we understand women’s collegiate soccer is demanding both physically and mentally, as well as exceptionally competitive. In this regard, we all believe that his behavior, both past and present, has consistently been of the highest professional caliber. We believe that Coach Adair has and will continue to the best of his ability put the team in situations to compete at the highest level.
Finally, we understand that a lawsuit may be settled for a host of different reasons, none of which may be related to guilt or innocence. We firmly believe that these allegations are nothing more than a distorted representation of the facts.
Today, we join together to affirm that Coach Adair’s leadership has made each of us better players, teammates, and people. We stand by Coach Adair and Virginia Tech, and what we believe is the truth. And we look forward to the bright future of the Virginia Tech Women’s Soccer Program under his guidance.
Current and Former VT Women's Soccer Athletes
You can see who all signed the statement here.
The Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock also released the following, which referenced the above comment.