> I think it is unfortunate that a benign email (even if it was poor judgment to send) went viral the way it did. But I fail to see how the university, or anyon

> I think it is unfortunate that a benign email (even if it was poor judgment to send) went viral the way it did. But I fail to see how the university, or anyone, is legally culpable for private companies choosing not to retain his services. If the e-mail was (as you stated) "benign" and what the student asked was (again, your own assessment) "completely absurd and ridiculous" then suspending someone (even with pay) pending investigation could easily be seen as an overreaction in court. The professor also made a case that his employer had something to gain from this overreaction. And he is making the case he lost something due to this overreaction.