Former principal James Whitfield files defamation suit against Grapevine Colleyville ISD, trustee
COLLEYVILLE (CBSDFW.COM) — A former Colleyville principal is accusing the district and one of its board members of defamation, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.
Dr. James Whitfield has accused the Grapevine Colleyville Independent School District (GCISD) and Trustee Tammy Nakamura of publicly defaming him. In doing so, he alleges, they violated the terms of a settlement agreement that set the terms of Whitfield's resignation from the district.
Whitfield is the former principal of Colleyville Heritage High School who was placed on administrative leave in August 2021 amid accusations that he was teaching critical race theory. GCISD officials also objected to decade-old Facebook photos of Whitfield and his wife at a beach.
In November, the district voted unanimously not to renew Whitfield's contract. As part of a settlement between the board and Whitfield, he remains on paid leave until August 2023.
Whitfield's lawsuit claims that part of the settlement agreement included a "Mutual Non-Disparagement, Non-Retaliation provision." As part of that clause, the board and its members agreed "to not make any disparaging remarks against Whitfield, his family, or his representatives."
The provision also contained an agreement that neither Whitfield nor the district would make any further comments about his resignation.
However, the suit alleges, one of the district's board members violated that clause at a public meeting last year. It claims that on June 26, 2022, GCISD Trustee Tammy Nakamura gave a recorded address at a public meeting at a local RNC Community Center.
According to the lawsuit, Nakamura called Whitfield a "total activist" during the speech. She also said that Whitfield was "pushing a movement through" and referred to teachers like him as "poison."
Nakamura is also accused of discussing Whitfield's resignation at the meeting. She apparently called a letter denouncing discrimination that he sent in the wake of George Floyd's murder by a white police officer "the straw that broke the camel's back... and got him fired."
Whitfield argued that Nakamura's "defamatory" comments have harmed his reputation and job prospects and asked for relief and damages as determined by the court. He also asks that GCISD and Nakamura be ordered to stop violating their agreement and pay attorney's fees.
