A former suburban Chicago high school guidance counselor and girls' basketball coach fired over a racy advice book he penned has filed a big-ticket lawsuit against the school district.
Bryan Craig, who worked at Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields, Ill., is seeking $1 million in damages to "compensate him for the injuries he suffered" after he was first put on leave and later terminated over the controversial release of his new self-published book "It's Her Fault," the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The book includes pick-up advice, categorizations of women's body types and other sexually explicit material which upset parents and community members.
"Even though I feel I’m beyond the highest caliber of men, I still have a weakness for cleavage," Craig writes in one passage, according to Patch.
Earlier this month, Craig resigned from his coaching post and was put on paid administrative leave from his guidance counselor position. About three weeks later, the tenured faculty member was terminated by the school where he was employed since 2004.
In a federal complaint naming the school's board president Betty Owens, the district and its superintendent Donna Leak, Craig argues that his being let go violated the First Amendment, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Craig's lawsuit argues that his termination has led to $1 million worth of humiliation, mental anguish and emotional distress, according to the paper. Further, the teacher argues that the book was not part of his work responsibilities and therefore should be irrelevant to his job performance.
The matter has attracted national media attention, including an interview with CNN's Don Lemon (embedded below).