Evidence Lacking in Coach’s Retaliation Claim

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s ruling against a coach, who had argued that a school district’s failure to renew his contract was an act of retaliation.   The panel of judges found specifically that Gregory Samuelson “failed to establish that the instances that he claims are protected expression (of speech) played a role in the decision of the Board.”   Samuelson became a teacher at LaPorte Community School Corporation in 1992. Among his other