Former Liberty University employee files discrimination lawsuit

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - A former Liberty University employee has filed a federal lawsuit, claiming he was discriminated against by the university based on race under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Kelvin Edwards, who played football for Liberty in the 1980s and then played for the NFL, says the university hired him in July 2020 as Executive Vice President of Management Efficiencies and Diversity. At the time, he owned a car dealership in Texas, and the suit claims the university acknowledged he would be uprooting his family and taking a risk by moving, and so promised him at least ten years of employment.

The suit claims he was offered a $275,000 annual salary, monthly vehicle allowance and the promise of a house built for his family.

Shortly after he started his job, the school’s president, Jerry Falwell, Jr., left and was replaced by Acting President Jerry Prevo, who, according to the suit, demoted Edwards and then fired him in October 2020.

The $8.3 million lawsuit, claiming racial discrimination and breach of contract, claims Prevo did not believe in diversity efforts at Liberty.

Read the entire suit here:

Edwards Lu Lawsuit by Pat Thomas on Scribd