Dedham Football Coach Flynn Sues District Following Removal

DEDHAM, MA — David Flynn, the Dedham High School football coach who was not reappointed, is suing the school district over his removal. The lawsuit claims Flynn was fired in retaliation for "exercising his First Amendment rights" by speaking out against his daughter's class curriculum.

Flynn raised concerns about his daughter's history curriculum, which included topics on gender equality, race, stereotypes and diversity, along with imagery that included the Black Lives Matter logo. The federal lawsuit was filed last week and names the Dedham superintendent, Michael Welch, high school principal, Jim Forrest, and director of athletics, Stephen Traister.

In January, Dedham school officials issued a letter to the community detailing their decision not to reappoint Flynn. The decision was based on "significant, repeatedly expressed, philosophical differences with the direction, goals, and values of the school district," according to the letter.

The lawsuit says Flynn and his wife approached the principal and teacher with their concerns about the curriculum, particularly the visuals of the teacher's animated character wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt, and the principal responded. Flynn and his wife felt the concerns weren't addressed, according to the lawsuit, and brought the issues to the School Committee but ultimately chose to remove their children from the Dedham School District.

Flynn emailed the Dedham School Committee president and vice president:

"I believe all relationships are based on compromise. The Superintendent was not willing to compromise. I explained to him that if the teacher teaches the course objectively and removes the BLM logo from the class, people will soon get over the fact that the class was purposely created without notifying parents and without having a visible course curriculum, syllabus and learning objective. Apparently, it does not mean much to him that the Dedham Public School System is losing two wonderful students."

Flynn was the Dedham High School football coach since 2011. Following the announcement of Flynn's removal, students and former players held rallies at Dedham High School supporting him.