Professor’s Suit Over ‘Racial IQ Gap’ Paper Faces Wary Court (2)

June 12, 2025, 4:57 PM UTCUpdated: June 12, 2025, 8:01 PM UTC

The Sixth Circuit Thursday seemed leery of reviving a Cleveland State University professor’s lawsuit challenging his termination stemming from a paper he co-authored advancing a theory that genetics cause a “racial IQ gap.”

The oral argument before Judges Jeffrey S. Sutton, Julia Smith Gibbons, and Helene N. White addressed the free-speech rights of academics and the ability of universities to discipline an employee for research-related misconduct, including on controversial topics.

The Cincinnati-based panel probed counsel for Bryan Pesta and a lawyer for the two university officials and four professors he’s suing on whether Pesta’s alleged violations of National ...

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