National Roundup

Massachusetts
College cancels speech by advocate for guns on campus
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts college has apologized for canceling a speech by a woman who advocates for allowing guns on college campuses.

Antonia Okafor says Hampshire College in Amherst canceled her speech two hours before its scheduled start Wednesday because it was “too controversial.”

The college apologized, but it says the event was canceled because the “student application was not sufficiently complete,” and not because of the speaker.

Okafor is co-founder of a group that calls itself a movement of women “who feel empowered when they use their gun for self-defense.”

She was invited to speak by a group for South Asian and international students. The school didn’t spell out what was missing from the group’s application, but it says it’s trying to reschedule.

Okafor says it’s sad that free speech and gun rights are hated at a U.S. college.

California
Warren Moon sued for sexual harassment
Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon has been accused of sexual harassment by an assistant for his sports marketing firm, according to a lawsuit filed in California.

The civil lawsuit was filed Monday in Orange County Superior Court. According to court documents, Wendy Haskell alleges Moon made “unwanted and unsolicited” sexual advances while she worked for Sports 1 Marketing. Moon is the co-founder and president of the company.

The Washington Post first reported on the lawsuit Wednesday. The 61-year-old Moon has been working as a radio commentator for the Seattle Seahawks. The team announced later Wednesday that “We have accepted Warren Moon’s request for a leave of absence as the club’s radio analyst.”

Moon played parts of 17 seasons in the NFL with Houston, Minnesota, Seattle and Kansas City.

According to the lawsuit, Haskell was hired as an executive assistant to Moon in the summer of 2017. The lawsuit alleges that Haskell was forced to sleep in the same bed with Moon on business trips while wearing lingerie. Haskell says in the lawsuit that she complained about the arrangement but Moon responded “this was the way it was.”

Haskell claimed she was drugged by Moon during a trip to Mexico in October. The lawsuit alleges that Moon acknowledged drugging Haskell because he thought she wasn’t “having fun.” She also claims Moon pulled off her swimsuit during the Mexico trip.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims Haskell was required to keep the bathroom door unlocked while she showered and Moon repeatedly entered the room.

The lawsuit claims that Haskell reported Moon’s behavior to Sports 1 Marketing CEO David Meltzer but the company did not investigate her claims. Haskell claims she was demoted after making the complaints.

Moon threw for 49,325 yards and 291 touchdowns in the regular season and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2006. The former University of Washington star led the team to a 1978 Rose Bowl victory. He went undrafted by the NFL and led Edmonton to five Canadian Football League titles. He became one of the NFL’s first successful black quarterbacks, starting his career with the Oilers in the 1984 season.

Haskell’s attorney, Diane L. Fitzgerald, told The Washington Post her client had decided to go public with the suit.

“She was expecting to further her career in the sports marketing industry,” Fitzgerald told The Post. “She had no idea that her job duties were going to involve that kind of perverse protocol.”

Massachusetts
Retired justice ‘disappointed’ to be kept off jury
BOSTON (AP) — She was impartial enough to serve as a justice on the highest court in Massachusetts, but apparently that wasn’t enough for Geraldine Hines to be named a juror in a murder trial.

The 70-year-old Hines, who retired from the Supreme Judicial Court in August, said she was “so disappointed” when the prosecutor rejected her as a juror Wednesday.

Hines tells The Boston Globe , “I’ve been waiting my whole life to be a juror in a criminal case.”

After questioning from defense attorneys and Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Mark Lee, Lee used one of his challenges to keep Hines off the jury. He apologized outside of court.

The case involves two gang members involved in a gunfight at a festival in Boston in 2014 that took the life of an innocent bystander.

New Jersey
Teacher fired for putting students in bathroom
WAYNE, N.J. (AP) — A state arbitrator has fired a tenured teacher in New Jersey for confining two students in a bathroom.

The arbitrator found Donna DeMarco was guilty of conduct unbecoming for using the confinement as a means of punishment or behavioral control.

DeMarco was a teacher at Packanack Elementary School in Wayne. Half of her class of 16 students were special needs or had autism.

The teacher testified she used bathroom confinement as a de-escalation technique for two students during the 2015-16 school year. She also said she referred to the children using derogatory terms in front of colleagues as a means of venting.

The arbitrator said the name-calling was unprofessional, but not grounds for termination.

DeMarco was hired in 2006 and granted tenure in 2009.
Her lawyer declined comment.

New York
Woman claims surgeon talked on cellphone during operation
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — A suburban New York City woman has sued a doctor, claiming he used his cellphone to take a language test while operating on her.

The Journal News reports 70-year-old Mary Edwards, of Port Chester, filed a lawsuit Monday in state Supreme Court against Dr. Eric Fishman and his employer, Westmed Medical Group. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Fishman performed surgery on Edwards to fix varicose veins twice in 2017. According to the lawsuit, Edwards claims Fishman had a conversation in Spanish on his cellphone during the second outpatient procedure.

Edwards’ attorney says his client was terrified for the rest of the operation. Edwards claims Fishman later explained he was taking a Spanish proficiency test during the surgery.

A Westmed spokeswoman said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.