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