Student Sues Local School After Expulsion Over Cursing

WASHINGTON, CT — Attorneys for a former Gunnery School student have filed a lawsuit claiming their client was unjustly expelled from the private school in his senior year after he used a two-word profanity at his football coach during a game.

The incident occurred in November 2019. The student, Noah Greenberg, now 19, transferred to a high school in Great Barrington, MA, from which he has since graduated.

The suit acknowledges that Greenberg had suffered from learning disabilities, which caused him to repeat his sophomore year at The Gunnery, an exclusive co-educational day- and boarding school in Washington. It alleges a history of abuses by the school's football coach visited upon Greenberg, who was captain of the football team.

The lawsuit cites several counts, including breach of contract, negligence, and reckless or wanton misconduct. It seeks a jury trial, and looks for monetary damages as well as for Greenberg's record to be expunged and his expulsion vacated.

The Gunnery filed a motion to dismiss the case on May 15, claiming protection under Connecticut's so-called anti-SLAPP statute. "Strategic lawsuits against public participation" (SLAPP) are seen as retaliatory lawsuits brought to intimidate and silence opponents and outspoken critics. Anti-SLAPP laws are intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate people who are exercising their First Amendment rights. In its filing, The Gunnery's attorneys said the school has a right of free association—to accept, decline or, in this case, expel students based on certain criteria.