More Fallout From The Racial Scandal At Georgetown Law

Another professor out at the law school.

Georgetown Law

Last week, the big story in legal academia — and beyond — was the Zoom conversation recorded between two law professors at Georgetown University Law Center. Adjunct professors Sandra Sellers and David Batson were discussing grading in the negotiations class they co-teach. Sellers was caught on camera saying of a Black student “a lot of my lower ones [students] are Blacks. Happens almost every semester. And it’s like, oh come on, you know? There are some really good ones, but there are also some that are just plain at the bottom and drives me crazy.” While Batson just seems to nod in agreement.

A clip of the Zoom conversation quickly went viral.

What also happened quickly was the law school’s response. Shortly after it publicly blew up, Sellers was out. Dean William Treanor said:

I informed Professor Sellers that I was terminating her relationship with Georgetown Law effective immediately. During our conversation, she told me that she had intended to resign. As a result of my decision, Professor Sellers is no longer affiliated with Georgetown Law.

For his role in the scandal, Batson was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Affirmative Action, and the Black Law Student Association at Georgetown demanded, inter alia, a “public apology from Professor David Batson in his failure to adequately condemn Sellers’ statements.”

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Now we’ve learned Batson has issued that apology, and decided to resign from his role at Georgetown Law. In his resignation letter, available in full below, Batson apologizes for not forcefully denouncing Sellers’s comments in real time:

I understand, however, that I missed the chance to respond in a more direct manner to address the inappropriate content of those remarks. For this I sincerely apologize. This experience has provided me, and I hope others, an invaluable opportunity to reconsider what actions should be taken when we encounter sensitive remarks.

In her own resignation letter, Sellers also offers an apology and says she’s committed to doing what she can to “combat racism in the Georgetown community.”

I am deeply sorry for my hurtful and misdirected remarks. While the video of this incident is an excerpt from a longer discussion about class participation patterns not overall grades, it doesn’t diminish the insensitivity I have demonstrated. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt my students or Georgetown Law and wish I could take back my words. Regardless of my intent, I have done irreparable harm and I am truly sorry for this. For that reason, I am immediately and voluntarily resigning my position as an adjunct professor.

You can read both the resignations below.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).