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   From: zinn@reno.us   
      
   Corey McNellis was fired because of his “Christian belief and because he   
   expressed his views,” lawsuit alleges   
      
   When a former assistant principal at Ponderosa High School found out in   
   2020 that the school’s theater company planned to put on a play about what   
   happened after Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was murdered, he   
   objected to the production.   
      
   Now, two years later, Corey McNellis, who was also athletic director at   
   the school, is suing Douglas County School District, alleging that the   
   Parker school fired him in October 2020 because of his “Christian belief   
   and because he expressed his views, which are protected by the First   
   Amendment,” according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the   
   District of Colorado, on July 1.   
      
   McNellis says in the federal lawsuit that he found out about the   
   production planned by Ponderosa’s theater company on Oct. 2, 2020, when   
   the school’s theater director emailed staff about the play – called “The   
   Laramie Project” –  to let them know the “nature of the play so that if we   
   have students who have an aggressively adverse reaction to our show choice   
   that you can support us in helping students understand.”   
      
   “This is a play about perspectives, and we would not want anyone in the   
   school to believe we are making a statement against anything other than   
   hate and violence,” the director wrote in the email according to the   
   lawsuit.   
      
   “The Laramie Project” is an “examination of the immediate reactions of   
   Matt Shepard’s community to the murder and to the underlying bigotry and   
   hatred that enabled it,” according to the Tectonic Theater Project, whose   
   team of writers and actors traveled to Wyoming after the murder to   
   interview local residents to create the play.   
      
   Shepard was beaten and tortured before he was left to die in Laramie in   
   1998. He was treated at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins before he   
   died. Authorities have said he was targeted because he was gay and the   
   attack drew international media attention.   
      
   McNellis’s lawsuit alleges that “The Laramie Project” “is a religiously   
   charged play that covers distressing material” and that it includes   
   interviews from Laramie residents, including “Christian leaders, some of   
   whom share unsavory opinions regarding Shepard’s murder, and cite their   
   Christian faith as the reason for their views.”   
      
   Matt Joslyn, executive director of Tectonic Theater Project, said in a   
   statement that he could not comment on the lawsuit, but that more than 200   
   hours of interviews were used to create the play and that its world   
   premiere was held in Denver.   
      
   “Yes, the play covers distressing material: the brutal hate crime   
   perpetrated on an innocent person because of his sexual orientation,”   
   Joslyn said. “Its characters are real people from widely varied   
   backgrounds with diverse perspectives. At Tectonic Theater Project we   
   stand for radical empathy, thoughtful discourse, and the continued   
   campaign, together with the Matthew Shepard Foundation, to erase hatred in   
   our world.”   
      
   McNellis was worried about “how the Christian religion comes across in the   
   play,” said Spencer Kontnik, an attorney representing McNellis.   
      
   When McNellis found out about the play, he responded in an email by   
   asking, “As a Dad of a student here and also as an employee in the school,   
   what is my recourse if I disagree with the production? Was this a heads up   
   to see if everyone is cool?”   
      
   An email exchange followed between other staff members, including a   
   history teacher who offered to provide “a social studies perspective” on   
   the play. McNellis responded and “offered to provide a Christian   
   perspective,” according to the lawsuit.   
      
   “It absolutely never had anything to do with anti-LGBTQ,” McNellis told   
   The Denver Post on Wednesday when asked to comment on the lawsuit. “And   
   none of my comments could be seen as that.”   
      
   The lawsuit did not include copies or more specifics of the email exchange   
   but alleges the emails were then sent to administrators, including the   
   district’s human resources director and the school’s principal.   
      
   Afterward, McNellis was told by Danny Winsor, the district’s executive   
   director of schools for the Parker region, to stay home because of his   
   “religious comments” and was soon placed on leave, according to the   
   lawsuit. A further investigation ensued, with administrators receiving a   
   complaint from a teacher that said McNellis “was part of a good ole boys   
   club.” They also found an email that showed he complained “as a parent”   
   about the school’s communications on COVID-19 safety protocols.   
      
   McNellis had worked at the school for more than 14 years without any   
   disciplinary action. The district fired him after its investigation,   
   citing the emails related to “The Laramie Project,” according to the   
   lawsuit.   
      
   “Douglas County School District has received the complaint and is   
   reviewing it,” the district said in a statement. “The District respects   
   the rights of its employees to freely exercise a religion of their   
   choosing, or not, and has policies in place that prohibit discrimination   
   on the basis of religion.”   
      
   McNellis also filed a joint complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights   
   Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year and   
   received a letter of right to sue from both entities this spring,   
   according to the lawsuit.   
      
   https://www.denverpost.com/2022/07/06/corey-mcnellis-douglas-county-   
   school-district-christian-lawsuit-matthew-shepard-laramie-   
   project/?itm_source=parsely-api   
      
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