Colleges and universities have paid nearly $3 million in settlements tied to employee discipline and termination after comments about conservative activist Charlie Kirk followed his assassination, according to tracking by free-speech advocates. The largest payment came from the University of Tennessee System, which agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a wrongful-termination lawsuit brought by an assistant anthropology professor fired after a Facebook post. Austin Peay State University agreed to a $500,000 settlement, and Ball State paid $225,000 in a separate matter. The cases are part of a broader legal pattern that free-expression groups say is costly for public institutions and potentially exposes them to First Amendment claims, as universities weigh political pressure and campus communications during highly charged events.