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FIRE is that the University of Tampa terminated professor Ken Storey after reports surfaced of his now-deleted tweet implying that Hurricane Harvey was “instant karma” for Texas voting Republican in the last presidential election.

Storey has since tweeted an apology.

We are concerned by this potential threat to freedom of expression and are investigating this dismissal.

While the University of Tampa is a private institution, it its faculty freedom of expression. Private institutions cannot make promises to students and faculty only to abandon them when convenient.

We are in contact with Professor Storey in hopes of gaining a complete and accurate understanding of the facts to evaluate a course of action. FIREwill provide additional updates and information as events warrant.