Austin Peay State University has reinstated Darren Michael and paid out a $500,000 legal settlement nearly four months after firing the theater professor for a post related to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Administrators abruptly fired Michael, a tenured professor, after senior U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn put a spotlight on APSU for Michael’s social media post, which restated Kirk’s own words about accepting shootings as byproduct of Second Amendment protections. Austin Peay then changed the decision to a formal suspension after a tense faculty senate meeting criticizing the administration’s actions.
Facing pressure from Sen. Marsha Blackburn, university leaders fired Darren Michael over legal and policy concerns
Michael was one of several individuals fired or otherwise disciplined during the chaotic aftermath of Kirk’s shooting death at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. After Michael shared a 2023 article in which Kirk justified firearm deaths, Blackburn fired off an ominous social media post reading, “What do you say, Austin Peay State University?” Michael was fired on Friday, Sept. 12, via email. He later retained attorney David L. King.
Fellow faculty members immediately raised concerns that Michael had been wrongfully terminated. The public university can fire tenured faculty only for “adequate cause” and must guarantee the “assurance of continued employment during the academic year” — standards that many felt administrators had ignored amid the contentious political environment.
Multiple outlets confirm that Michael had been reinstated to his position in late 2025 and received a $500,000 settlement from APSU. Mike Licari, the university’s president, admitted that the school did not follow correct termination procedures, according to a release from the Tennessee Bar Association.
"Austin Peay was in a reactive mode, and they did not follow the proper channels," says King, Michael's attorney. "I don't think this settlement begins to cover the trauma and terror he and his family went through. For now, Darren Michael is back pursing his career, that was our first priority and first step."
