Tennessee school pays student $10k after being blocked from her graduation for coming out as gay

A Tennessee private Christian school has paid out $10,000 to a senior who said she was blocked from attending her graduation after coming out as gay online.Morgan Armstrong received the payout, one year after she filed the lawsuit against officials at the Cleveland institution, WTVC reported Monday.Armstrong, a “standout” basketball player at Tennessee Christian Preparatory School, said she was suspended just two weeks before her graduation after announcing on Facebook she was in a relationship with Sophie Bryant, court documents seen by The Post revealed.These claims were vehemently disputed by the school, who claimed she had breached its social media policies, citing a “disparaging” private message she had sent to a select number of her pals.The then 18-year-old student filed a lawsuit, blasting what she thought was a heavy-handed response, particularly as she hadn’t previously violated the school’s social media policy, and the saga spanned a year before the payout.“Tennessee Christian and the Armstrong family disagree regarding the extent to which Morgan Armstrong violated school policies,” school officials said in response to the ruling.“Both parties acknowledge that this disagreement remains unresolved and mutually agreed to move forward.No further comments will be made regarding this matter.”Armstrong came out as gay in April 2025, boasting the “cat’s out the bag” before messaging her pals to like the post.“Go and comment on my post.

I have some ruthless Trump supporting ‘Jesus’ mfs on there,” Armstrong wrote, fearing her news could cause a family rift.Then, she was hauled into a meeting with the principal Kylie Machachek and Jared Tilley, the head of schools. “Morgan posted on social media platforms, such as Instagram, a disparaging remark, reflecting the people at Tennessee Christian,” school officials said in a letter addressed to the student.“The comment reflected on the institution, facility, staff, alumni and stu...