Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston. Photo: Earlie Hudnall/TSU

A professor at Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law is blowing the whistle on what he says is a pattern of racial discrimination that harms students and the school's mission.

"Non-white professors were treated much more favorably, and received deanships, titles, and directorships, despite being less qualified," said the complaint in Champion v. Texas Southern University, pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. "Race was a motivating factor in defendant's adverse treatment of plaintiff."

The plaintiff, Walter Champion, has worked at the school for 34 years and he's a fully tenured law professor, and alleged that his salary is much lower and he's been denied titled professorships and chair positions because he is white. Champion is suing the school for racial discrimination under the Civil Rights Act Title VII and under the Texas Whistleblower Act for allegedly leaving an endowed professor chair vacant in violation of state law.

Thurgood Marshall law school has faced allegations of discrimination in the past. In July 2017, the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, which accredits law schools, issued censures against the school for violation of an anti-discrimination accreditation standard and multiple academic standards. That censure came after a female law professor sued, claiming the school discriminated against her based on her gender.

In his original complaint, Champion claims that the school has hired administrators and professors who are not qualified and are racist, which is hurting the law school's mission of expanding the legal profession to underserved populations. He claimed that some professors can't answer simple questions about their course topics, they're not helping students and that the school consistently has the lowest bar passage rates in Texas.

"Many administrative decisions at [Thurgood Marshall School of Law] are based on race, racism, and racist cronyism, violate state funding statutes and anti-discrimination laws, violate [Texas Southern University] and [Thurgood Marshall School of Law] policies and faculty manuals, grossly misappropriate public monies and are ultra vires," the complaint said.

Champion alleged that he earns $153,000 annually, but a long list of minority law professors who are less credentialed earn more than that. His complaint said he's a nationally recognized sports law expert who's published 12 books with reputable legal publishers, and these accomplishments should qualify him for a titled professorship or chair position and a raise.

Yet in 2017, the law school chose another law professor over Champion for a titled professorship. Champion claimed that he's more experienced in years and scholarship, but the school chose the other professor because he's black while Champion is white.

From 2006 to 2012, Champion was named the George Foreman Professor of Sports and Entertainment Law, and he claimed the school intentionally underpaid him during that time. Then from 2012 to 2019, his title was revoked, and the school left the George Foreman professorship vacant, even though Champion is the only one at the school who is eligible for the position.

He alleged that allowing the George Foreman professorship to sit vacant violates the $1 million trust that set up the endowed position. Champion has informed the school's deans from 2012 to present that the position must be filled immediately or it's a violation of law regarding the control of trust funds. This is the basis of his whistleblower claim.

Texas Southern on Monday argued that the court should dismiss Champion's whistleblower claim because the university has sovereign immunity, which strips the court of jurisdiction. The Texas Whistleblower Act only waives sovereign immunity when the case is filed in Texas state courts, not in federal courts, said the motion to dismiss.

Houston solo practitioner Andrew Cobos, who represents Champion, declined to comment. No one from the press office of Texas Southern's law school immediately returned an email seeking comment. Neither did Assistant Texas Attorney General Matthew Deal, who represents the university.

Read the complaint: