Kiersten Hening, a former women’s soccer player at Virginia Tech, has filed a federal lawsuit against the university and her former coach.
Hening alleges Coach Chugger Adair berated her when she refused to kneel before games this past season. The suit says Adair pushed a campaign of abuse and retaliation that forced her off the team.
Hening started as a Hokie in her freshman and sophomore years but was benched in 2020 after the suit’s alleged incident.
Teammates begin kneeling during the pre-game readings of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s unity pledge, which shows support for social justice movements including Black Lives Matter.
While Hening says she supports social justice and believes black lives matter, she does support the BLM organization.
The lawsuit says that during the halftime of a September contest, Adair singled her out and verbally attacked her.
In her time at Tech, Hening started 37 games. She left the program in September.
Adair is in his 10th season at Tech. Neither he nor Virginia Tech will comment on the matter.
