Former Lincoln Park High School Principal, Assistant Principal Sue CPS, Say Their Reputations Were Ruined

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The former principal and assistant principal at Lincoln Park High School filed a lawsuit Tuesday, claiming they were subjected to unfounded false statements by Chicago Public Schools officials.

Former interim principal John Thuet and assistant principal Michelle Brumfield filed suit against CPS, as well as CPS Chief Executive Officer Janice Jackson, Chief Communications Officer Michael Passman, and two unnamed CPS employees.

Thuet and Brumfield were fired late last month – prompting student walkouts and complaints from angry parents at the school, 2001 N. Orchard St. The boys' basketball team was also scrapped.

During Christmas week at the Motor City Roundball Classic in the Detroit suburb of Mount Clemens, Michigan, the team won two of their three games. A week after the Detroit trip, the school's principal said the "overnight trip over winter break… was not a school-sponsored event.

An investigation followed, and Thuet and Brumfield were removed from their positions.

It was later revealed that CPS had launched four separate investigations at Lincoln Park, including sexual misconduct within the athletics department.

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The lawsuit said Thuet and Brumfield were not only fired, but placed on the "Do Not Hire" list, which bans them from being hired for any kind of position with CPS ever again.

The suit said CPS accused Thuet and Brumfield of disseminating "unfounded, false statements" accusing them of causing "life-altering harm" to students and "endanger[ing] victims," and falsely suggesting that they had taken part in an effort to conceal serious acts of misconduct at the school.

The lawsuit quoted a Feb. 13, 2020 article in the Chicago Sun-Times, which included statements attributed to CPS officials that administrators "minimized sexual misconduct allegations (and) didn't protect whistleblowers or alleged victims from bullying and retaliation," among other allegations. CPS officials were also attributed as saying Thuet and Brumfield made "troubling decisions" about the Detroit basketball trip, and as saying Brumfield "lied about not knowing" about it.

CPS officials in the Sun-Times also accused Thuet and Brumfield were also mishandling an incident involving inappropriate communication between the girls' basketball coach and a student, the suit said.

The Sun-Times article also quoted CPS spokesman Passman specifically of saying Lincoln Park High School administrators had "failed to promote the best interests of their students and endangered victims who were counting on their support."

The suit said Thuet and Brumfield did not endanger anyone or harm students, and did not minimize any reports of misconduct.

With what has happened, Thuet and Brumfield's professional reputations have been damaged to the point where they are "virtually unemployable" in the education field, and even in "virtually any capacity" in any field.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and an order forbidding CPS from further disseminating "defamatory" statements about Thuet and Brumfield. It was filed by attorney Matthew Ryan of Cotsirilos, Tighe, Streicker, Poulos, & Campbell Ltd.

CPS said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.