Professor Sacked For Allegedly Masturbating During Zoom Class Sues Fordham University

A Fordham social work professor who was sacked over masturbation allegations during an online class is suing his former employer for allegedly violating his civil rights because his erectile dysfunction made the allegation “virtually impossible.”

Fordham University fired the professor, Howard Robinson, 69, over a claim he masturbated during a Sept. 10, 2020, Zoom lecture, which student Andrea Morin captured on her cell phone, according to the suit filed in White Plains Federal Court.

Morin is also suing the institution after the incident reportedly caused her to lose her scholarship, noting school officials dropped her from the program without any special consideration from the college, the New York Daily News reported.

She also claimed a full-time, tenured professor would fail her in a different social work course in retaliation for her lodging a complaint against Robinson, who was sacked on Jan. 26 after he was suspended without pay during the investigations.

“This event has caused enormous problems for me in my life. I have fallen behind in school and emotionally suffer from this incident,” Morin wrote in her lawsuit, noting she reported the incident that same day, the New York Post noted.

Meanwhile, Robinson has repeatedly denied masturbating during the class, insisting he is incapable of doing so due to erectile dysfunction.

“No, I was not masturbating,” he said. “The thought of masturbating was the furthest thing from my mind. I was totally focused on teaching.”

Morin claims she saw Robinson, who was visible on the other side of the screen from the chest to the top of his head, was red-faced and panting during their online class. She said he seemed to be rocking back and forth while moving his arms rapidly.

At one point, the student allegedly moaned, “F--k, yeah,” according to the complaint.

Reports suggest that the video shows the moment the man was making rapid movements for about a minute and a half. Eventually, he gets up off the chair and leaves the screen.

However, Robinson claimed the movement on the video shows his discomfort as he tries to hold his bladder while scrambling to attach a PowerPoint presentation and email it to the class, according to the Daily Beast.

“It might be hard for other people to get it. For a 69-year-old with a medical issue, I have to deal with it.” Robinson said.

“My record has been sterling,” he added. “There has never been a student or faculty member making any complaint whatsoever.”