LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The University of Louisville has agreed to pay $1.6 million to settle a lawsuit involving a former professor.

What You Need To Know

  • The University of Louisville has reached a settlement in a lawsuit almost six years after it was filed

  • The school will pay former professor, Allan Josephson, $1.6 million

  • Josephson spoke at a panel discussion and discussed the harms of "transitioning" children

  • He sued the school in 2019 for retaliation

The lawsuit, Josephson v. Ganzel, brought by Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys, said Dr. Allen Josephson, who led the university’s child psychiatry program, was “demoted, harassed and effectively fired” for remarks he made about the harms of “transitioning” children.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, ruled in Sept. 2024, Josephson’s case should go to trial. It said public university officials can be held accountable for censoring professors or retaliating against them.

Josephson joined UofL’s School of Medicine in 2003 as chief of its Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology. The lawsuit claimed he was demoted after speaking at a 2017 event for the Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit, conservative public policy think tank. Josephson spoke on a panel called: “Gender Dysphoria in Children: Understanding the Science and the Medicine.” According to the lawsuit, he said, “gender dysphoria is a socio-cultural, psychological phenomenon that cannot be fully addressed with drugs and surgery. Thus, doctors and others should explore what causes this confusion and help the child learn how to meet this developmental challenge.”

According to the lawsuit, some university staff members wanted UofL to take action against Josephson. In a release about the settlement, the Alliance Defending Freedom said, Josephson was demoted to a junior faculty member and stripped of teaching duties. In Feb. 2019, UofL announced Josephson’s contract was not being renewed, and he was let go from the school.

ADF Senior Counsel Travis Barham said, “As early as 2014, Dr. Josephson saw the truth behind dangerous procedures that activists were pushing on children struggling with their sex. He risked his livelihood and reputation to speak the truth boldly, and the university punished him for expressing his opinion—ultimately by dismissing him. But public universities have no business punishing professors simply because they hold different views.”

After almost six years, Josephson said he felt vindicated by the settlement. He said, “Children deserve better than life-altering procedures that mutilate their bodies and destroy their ability to lead fulfilling lives. In spite of the circumstances I suffered through with my university, I’m overwhelmed to see that my case helped lead the way for other medical practitioners to see the universal truth that altering biological sex is impossibly dangerous while acceptance of one’s sex leads to flourishing.”

Spectrum News 1 reached out to the University of Louisville for comment. UofL said it couldn’t comment because this was a personnel matter.