According to court documents, John Donnelly Jr. was reprimanded several times before the University imposed a lifetime ban from UNC athletic events Dec. 3, 2012. The lifetime ban was upheld in August.
According to the University’s response to Donnelly’s appeal of the ban, Donnelly repeatedly called the athletic department, made sexually suggestive comments to female athletic department employees and once showed up at an athlete’s personal residence uninvited. He also attempted to contact several women’s soccer players in person and via Facebook, the lawsuit states.
“His mannerisms and peculiar, focused determination to interact with these three young women, among others, was perceived by multiple people to be alarming,” the University’s lawsuit states.
Donnelly was represented by Kate Rech and UNC was represented by Attorney General Roy Cooper and Assistant Attorney General Matthew Tulchin. The Department of Athletics declined to comment on the appellate court’s decision. The attorney general’s office and Rech could not be reached for comment.
Donnelly, a 1970 American studies graduate from the University, has been an avid fan of UNC athletics and volunteered as an usher during the 2006 football season, according to court documents.
Donnelly appealed the lifetime ban, saying the ban violated his First Amendment rights. His response to the University’s lawsuit included emails where employees of the athletic department called him names like “human garbage.”
“This is a feeble attempt at limiting Mr. Donnelly’s constitutionally protected First Amendment right to freedom of speech by purporting that the indefinite ban was due to ‘a pattern of unacceptable behavior at UNC athletic events,’” Rech said in Donnelly’s response.
“In fact, it was because UNC officials believe Mr. Donnelly to be ‘human garbage’ and ‘creepy,’ based on the constitutionally protected statements he has made and because he ‘makes people feel uncomfortable.’”
