Ex-Wheaton College chaplain disputes reasons for dismissal
School releases further details of allegations
Wheaton College’s nowformer chaplain is vigorously disputing the college’s reasons for recently dismissing him and labeling as false the college’s assertion that he had made “inappropriate comments and actions of a racial and sexual nature.”
In an exclusive interview with the Tribune, Tim Blackmon on Thursday not only took issue with the college’s statement this week of specific allegations against him, but also objected to the college’s statement that “he did not dispute that he said or did any of these things.”
“I have categorically denied (these allegations) from the beginning, because they are a complete misconstrual of the comments,” Blackmon said.
At issue are the reasons for which Blackmon was dismissed from his role as chaplain in April, and an unsuccessful appeal process concluded on May 26.
On July 3, the college issued a statement that he was no longer employed at the west suburban evangelical Christian college.
The college initially stated that Blackmon had
“engaged in inappropriate comments and actions of a racial and sexual nature towards specific staff members in violation of our policies” and that after an investigation, the college found that while Blackmon had not engaged in “sexually immoral relationships or physical sexual misconduct, the investigation revealed conduct inconsistent with Wheaton’s policies and commitments.”
This week, however, Blackmon issued a statement through his attorneys alleging that “several of my comments have been taken completely out of their factual and in some cases, religious context.”
“There were no allegations of flirtation, inappropriate relationships, sexual misconduct or any sexual action towards anyone,” Blackmon said in his statement. “At no time did anyone, either the complainant or any witness, communicate offense or misconduct.”
Instead, Blackmon, a Netherlands native, attributed his “approach and banter” to his “Dutch directness and no-nonsense style.”
College officials on Wednesday night issued a response to Blackmon’s statement, listing a set of alleged actions, including Blackmon using a slur to refer to an Asian American employee of the chaplain’s office, suggesting that a female staff employee sit on his lap, and placing a graphically illustrated manual of sexual positions on a staff member’s desk.
In an interview Thursday, Blackmon, who is Black, called his conversation with the chaplain’s office employee a “commiseration” over the realities of them working as people of color at Wheaton College, and that it was an “act of hospitality” between two minorities at the predominantly white institution.
He said the book in question, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Kama Sutra,” was shared with him by a prankster at his last job in the Netherlands, and that there was “no ill intent” in him having it in his office.
“There’s a book almost just like it at Wheaton
College’s Buswell Library,” he said. “Of course it’s a foolish thing. I was just sharing a prank.”
And Blackmon insisted that the allegation that he had asked an employee to sit on his lap is “absolutely false.”
Blackmon’s attorney, Andrew Miltenberg, said Blackmon “never harassed anyone.”
Miltenberg criticized Wheaton College for “publicly smearing and defaming” Blackmon’s reputation “merely because he does not fall in line with whatever principles they think he has run afoul of.”
He added that while “it’s not Tim’s preference” to sue Wheaton, he believes Blackmon has a strong case.
“I’m very distressed at the way Wheaton has behaved in the last few days,” Miltenberg said. “I can tell you that the manner in which Wheaton has conducted itself in the last 48 hours has pushed us closer to feeling compelled to sue to clear Tim’s name than we felt last week. And there’s no there there. Wheaton’s sort of making it up and I feel like they hide behind this curtain of Christianity, and yet they’re acting anything but Christian.”
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