RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) β The state Court of Appeals has upheld the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s lifetime ban of a fan who allegedly harassed female soccer players.
John Donnelly Jr. sued after the university issued the ban in 2012, claiming that barring him from public sporting events violated his First amendment rights. University officials acted after the 1970 graduate reportedly made sexually suggestive comments to female staffers, showed up at the out-of-state hotel where the players were staying and harassed them. They say he also loudly criticized players in front of family members while serving as a volunteer usher at games. Donnelly is also alleged to have made harassing phone calls to the athletics department up to 13 times a day.
The three-judge panel ruled the ban was legal and justified.
