46°
Hening was rewarded at least $100,000 as part of an agreement to dismiss a federal lawsuit that was previously filed regarding the former defensive midfielder’s First Amendment rights.
According to reports, the terms of the settlement do not involve Adair admitting any wrongdoing, though few other details were initially released pending the finality of the agreement.
"The people I care about and whose opinions matter to me know the truth," Adair wrote in a statement following the announcement of the settlement. "They know my coaching decisions are based purely on getting our team in a position to win.
"My team knows in this particular case, prior to the UVA game, Ms. Hening was starting in a different position and had been replaced by a player who also stood during the ACC Unity statement."
Hening alleged that after she refused to kneel in support of social justice initiatives, including BLM, prior to the team’s 2020 season opener against the University of Virginia, Adair retaliated against her in violation of the First Amendment, her lawyers said.
It was further alleged that in a separate incident Adair “verbally attacked her" at halftime, claiming that she was “b-tching and moaning" while jabbing a finger in her face.”
According to the lawsuit, the coach made life difficult on Hening until he benched her - despite being an important member to the team - and ultimately made things so insufferable that she felt compelled to quit the team.
Federal Judge Thomas Cullen previously made a note in his ruling that as a freshman, Hening averaged 76 minutes on the pitch per game, which rose to 88 as a sophomore before plummeting to 29 minutes and five minutes in the games immediately after she refused to kneel.
"Hening, who had been a major on-field contributor for two years prior to the 2020 season, also asserts that Adair removed her from the starting lineup for the next two games and drastically reduced her playing time in those games because she had engaged in this protected First Amendment activity,” Cullen wrote. “As a result, Hening resigned from the team after the third game of the season."
The case had been scheduled to go to trial later this month until the settlement was agreed upon.
Following the announcement of the settlement, a statement was issued by 76 current and former members of the Virginia Tech women's soccer program regarding Adair.
"As current and former players, we understand women’s collegiate soccer is demanding both physically and mentally, as well as exceptionally competitive," they wrote. "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."
See AttachmentClick here to follow Daily Voice Fredericksburg and receive free news updates.
