Princeton University fired Joshua Katz, a tenured classics professor, for lying about a sexual relationship with an undergraduate student 15 years ago. In 2020 he wrote an article for an online journal criticizing anti-racist proposals by the Princeton community. Katz’s lawyer said, “The university’s decision will have a powerful chilling effect on free speech, because anyone who might wish to express a controversial opinion knows that they must first ask themselves if their personal life can stand up to the kind of relentless scrutiny that Dr. Katz’s life was subjected to beginning just days after the publication of his Quillette article.” (The New York Times, May 23, 2022, by Anemna Hartocollis)
President of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, May 25, 2022, wrote that the university branded Katz as a racist and used the charges about his past as a pretext to fire him. Du Quenoy says the university defamed him and denied him due process.
In a press release, Pen America, May 25, 2022, said that the university should have acted years ago to fire Katz if he violated Princeton’s policies. By waiting to fire Katz, it appears they were reacting to speech they found offensive but should be protected by the First Amendment. “In such circumstances,” read the release, “the protection of speech is significantly weakened, and there exists a powerful disincentive for expressing views that may give rise to reproach.”