A former Texas A&M University professor sued the school Wednesday, alleging the university violated her constitutional rights by firing her after a classroom discussion about gender identity drew political backlash and calls from Republican officials for her dismissal.
Melissa McCoul, a senior lecturer in the university's English department, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Houston. She is seeking reinstatement and monetary damages, arguing she was terminated because of protected classroom speech and that the university denied her due process.
"Today I did something that would have been inconceivable a year ago, I've sued Texas A&M to hold it accountable for violations of my Constitutional rights to free speech and due process of law. There's no satisfaction in doing this, only sadness," McCoul said in a statement.
The case stems from a video recorded during a July 2025 class session in a children's literature course. The video showed a student questioning whether a discussion of gender identity was legal under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump. After the exchange, McCoul removed the student from the classroom.
The video spread widely online and drew criticism from Republican lawmakers, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who publicly called for McCoul to be fired.
Texas A&M later terminated McCoul in September 2025. In her lawsuit, she disputed the university’s stated rationale that she failed to follow instructions to bring course content in line with the catalog description.
McCoul said her course content was "100 percent aligned with the catalog description, course description."
"The explanations offered for Dr. McCoul's termination are inconsistent and nonsensical because they are untrue. Dr. McCoul was terminated because of the so-called 'liberal,' 'woke' themes she explored in her courses," the lawsuit said.
The university upheld McCoul's firing even after "two separate, independent university groups determined Texas A&M violated her right to due process and did not have cause to terminate her employment."
Chris Bryan, vice chancellor for marketing and communications for the Texas A&M University System, said Wednesday that officials were aware of the lawsuit but had not reviewed it.
"As this is pending litigation, we will not comment further, but we intend to vigorously defend against the claims," Bryan said in a statement.
Named as defendants were former university president Mark Welsh, interim President Tommy Williams, Texas A&M University System Chancellor Glenn Hegar, and the system's Board of Regents, among others.
The controversy contributed to Welsh's resignation in September 2025, though his resignation announcement did not cite the classroom dispute.
McCoul's lawsuit was filed days after Texas A&M announced it was ending the women's and gender studies program and revising hundreds of course syllabi under a new system policy limiting how some race and gender topics can be discussed in class.
Interim President Tommy Williams said in a news release, "Strong oversight and standards protect academic integrity and restore public trust, guaranteeing that a degree from Texas A&M means something to our students and the people who will hire them."
Texas A&M said six courses were canceled, representing 0.11% of courses offered this semester.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.