Liberty University, a private evangelical university located in Lynchburg, Virgina, has been receiving a lot of attention after the recent resignation of their president, Jerry Falwell Jr.
Liberty, which was founded by Falwell’s father, is also receiving attention because of the fact that they are being sued by Falwell over his claim that the university has damaged his reputation. The big question is, is the university damaging his reputation, or has Falwell damaged his own reputation? People are also wondering, since Falwell has several scandals attached to his name, why has it taken so long for Liberty’s trustees to take action against him.
Falwell’s resignation came after a man by the name of Giancarlo Granda went public in saying that he was involved in a year–long sexual relationship with Falwell’s wife of which Falwell participated in. Granda met the couple while working as a pool attendant in Miami, Florida. Granda told The Independent that “my relationship with the Falwell’s involved having sex with Becki while Jerry watched us.”
Falwell released a statement to The Washington Examiner which said “my wife had an affair with an ambitious young man, but I was not involved in the affair.” Falwell also said that Granda has tried to blackmail his family. Prior to his resignation, Falwell had already taken a leave of absence in Aug. 2020 following a suggestive picture he posted on social media. The picture showed Falwell with his pants unzipped and his shirt pulled up over his stomach, while he had his arm around his wife’s assistant whose shorts were also unzipped.
Another thing that Falwell is receiving backlash for is a ‘game’ that he and his wife would play involving the students at Liberty. The game would involve the couple pointing at students and imagining what it would be like to have sex with them. A former student, who was a friend of the Falwell’s son Trey, said that Becki Falwell would perform oral sex on him while he was staying the night at the Falwell house. The student said this happened while he was 22 and he is now 32.
In reference to the issue, POLITICO said a neighbor and good friend of the Falwells said that Becki Falwell told him about the affair she was having with the student, to which the neighbor replied, “Jerry will be upset.” Becki Falwell’s response was, “the only thing Jerry would be upset about was that he didn’t have a chance to watch me have sex” with the student.
Falwell is also receiving backlash for joking about having crushes on students. Students have come forward saying that he would show off a picture of himself with both of his arms around topless women. Former students have also said that Falwell would talk about the size of his penis to students.
Falwell has also been known to have regularly used the university’s private travel (often to Florida), kept five immediate family members (including his son Trey), on payroll, sold a university-owned home to his son Trey and extended a university backed loan to a family friend.
Part of the reason why the Falwells are receiving so much backlash is because of the fact that they are engaging in sexual acts. These sexual acts are taking place outside of marriage, which is forbidden in the evangelical church. Falwell is worried about his reputation being drug through the mud, yet has no consideration for the reputation of the university. Liberty’s reputation has been synonymous with the Falwell family for generations. Former faculty has stated that that they had observed Falwell showing up to campus smelling like alcohol and slurring his words.
Several people have left the university instead of speaking out because that’s what they would rather do. “The church has a bad habit of keeping things secret. They want to keep it in house, take care of it in house. And Liberty’s the same way. It wants to suppress things and keep things quiet–and that’s what they did with Jerry,” said former Dean of the College of General Studies Mark Tinsley — who left in 2017 — to POLITICO magazine.
And if people haven’t left the university, they have been kicked off. Mark DeMoss, whose father donated $20 million for the construction of DeMoss Hall (one of the largest buildings on campus), was pushed off the board in 2016. DeMoss was pushed off the board for the questioning of Falwell’s endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump instead of other Republican contenders. DeMoss said “Trump’s behavior is not Christ-like behavior that Liberty University has spent 40 years promoting with its students.”
In discussing the actual lawsuit against Liberty, several lawyers from different sides of the spectrum have come forward with statements. Boz Tchividjian, a former Liberty law professor and grandson of the late Billy Graham, said, “independent investigations are often conducted by law firms while betraying the victims.”
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