First things first, fuck this article and fuck their ugly-ass AI slop.
Secondly, I’m not gonna comment on the legality or what is protected under 1st amendment- it’s not my expertise. Negy is a piece of shit and everyone I knew who had him as a professor was glad he was gone. His hateful comments weren’t reserved for twitter - he said that shit during his lectures. I also suspect his tweets were a stunt to drum up sales for a book he published around the same time. It’s so easy to sell to conservative morons. Just say some inappropriate things, cry like a baby when the consequences of your actions appear, then hold out your hand as hicks, the sexually repressed, and just plain assholes come flocking to empty their wallets for you.
It’s the University’s responsibility to act when students make reports of hurtful comments coming from a position of power.
If Negy wanted to spew his hate - he could have gone and sat his ass on the Free Speech lawn. Not his lecture hall.