Craig Robinson, the executive director of the National Association of College Basketball Coaches and the brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama, settled a racial discrimination lawsuit against a Milwaukee private school that was filed in 2022.
According to The Associated Press, Robinson and his wife, Kelly, filed the suit in response to the University School of Milwaukee’s termination of their then-9 and 11 year-old sons’ re-enrollment contracts for the 2021-2022 school year.
The school allegedly terminated the Robinsons’ children’s contracts after the couple raised concerns about teachers treating students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds differently. They noticed racially insensitive elements in assignments during their sons’ pandemic-era virtual learning.
Although school officials said the decision to not renew their children’s contracts were not because of their complaints, in a termination letter, USM’s Head of School Steve Hancock alleged that their decision was due to the couple engaging in disrespectful communication with teachers and administrative personnel.
According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the lawsuit was dismissed by the Milwaukee County Circuit Court with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be retried. No details about the case’s settlement have been revealed.
The Robinsons’ complaint alleged that USM wanted to “punish two model students in retaliation against their parents for raising valid concerns about USM’s treatment of its students of color and other underrepresented stakeholders in the school.”
In 2022, Robinson told the Journal-Sentinel that the lawsuit was not just about their sons, but other children at the school as well.
“We heard from a number of people and realized that our situation wasn’t unique, and that this was a pattern of behavior,” Craig Robinson said. “And once we heard that, then we felt a responsibility to do something more because we would feel awful if we just packed up and left.”
Per a joint statement from the Robinson family and USM, released after the court’s decision, “The Robinson Children were model students at USM. Both parties regret that the disagreements between the Robinsons and the school resulted in the Robinson children no longer being members of the USM community. The parties will not be commenting further on this matter.”
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