Full opinion text
Memorandum Opinion BUTTRAM, District Judge. This cause comes on to be heard on a motion for summary judgment filed by the Defendants, the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama (“UAB”), Dr. J. Foster Watkins (“Watkins”) and Dr. Dave Abrams (“Abrams”), on March 24, 1999 (Document 22), and on a motion to strike certain affidavit testimony of the Plaintiff, Mary Jo Bevill (“Bevill”), filed by the Defendants on May 11, 1999 (Document 29). In their motion for summary judgment, the Defendants argue that the Plaintiff cannot raise a genuine issue of material fact regarding: (1) her claim against UAB that she was terminated by UAB in retaliation for engaging in protected activity under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981a & 2000e, et seq. (“Title VII”); (2) her claim against UAB that it attempted to revoke her unemployment compensation benefits in retaliation for filing her EEOC charge under Title VII; (3) her claim against UAB that she was sexually harassed by her supervisor, Randell Pickering (“Pickering”) in violation of Title VII; (4) her claim against Abrams that she was terminated in retaliation for engaging in speech on a matter of public concern in violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, brought pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983; and (5) her claim against Watkins that he affirmed her termination in retaliation for having engaged in constitutionally protected speech in violation of the First Amendment, brought pursuant to § 1983. Defendant UAB first contends that the Plaintiff fails to raise a genuine issue of material fact with regard to her retaliatory termination claim under Title VII because the matter of which the Plaintiff complained was not employment discrimination, as set forth in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a), and therefore cannot constitute statutorily protected activity. Next, UAB argues that, because the Plaintiff cannot demonstrate that she suffered an adverse employment action, she cannot assert a viable claim that UAB attempted to revoke her unemployment compensation benefits in retaliation for engaging in protected activity. Third, UAB asserts that the Plaintiff cannot raise a genuine issue of material fact with regard to her sexual harassment claim because the conduct of her supervisor, Pickering, was not sufficiently severe or pervasive, either subjectively or objectively, to constitute harassment and because any “harassment” suffered by her was not motivated by sex. Defendants Watkins and Abrams contend that the Plaintiff cannot raise a genuine issue of triable fact with regard to her First Amendment retaliation claims against them because neither of the two violated any constitutional right of the Plaintiff and both are protected by qualified immunity from suit in the instant case. While the Plaintiff raises arguments against the Defendants’ contentions that she cannot present a genuine issue of triable fact on her Title VII retaliation and her First Amendment retaliation claims, the Plaintiff does not specifically argue against UAB’s assertions that she cannot raise an issue of triable fact with regard to her Title VII sexual harassment claim. Summary judgment provides the parties an invaluable opportunity to test the mettle of a case before it ever reaches trial. In evaluating a motion for summary judgment, the court assesses all of the proof the parties can bring to bear to ascertain the presence of a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, the court’s determination of the propriety of summary judgment is to be tempered by a strong inclination in favor of the non-movant. Therefore, only if the court concludes that no genuine issue of material fact exists and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter o'f law is a grant of summary judgment appropriate. Fed. R.CivP. 56(c). See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). It is the initial responsibility of the mov-ant to inform this court of the grounds for its motion and to specifically identify those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and any affidavits that it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The movant carries no meager burden, for it must illuminate for the district court, with reference to materials on file, the reasons why the non-movant cannot or does not raise a genuine issue of material fact sufficient to support a trial. Clark v. Coats & Clark, Inc., 929 F.2d 604, 608 (11th Cir.1991). But see Gonzalez v. Lee County Housing Authority, 161 F.3d 1290, 1294 (11th Cir.1998) (“When the non-moving party bears the burden of proof on an issue at trial, the moving party need not ‘support its motion with affidavits or other similar material negating the opponent’s claim,’ [Celotex ] at 323[106 S.Ct. 2548], in order to discharge this initial responsibility. Instead, the moving party simply may ‘ “show[ ]” — that is, point[ ] out to the district court — that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case.’ ”). Only after the moving party has satisfied this initial burden must the nonmoving party “make a sufficient showing to establish the existence of each essential element to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Howard v. BP Oil Company, 32 F.3d 520, 523 (11th Cir.1994). At that point, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(e) dictates that the nonmoving party “go beyond the pleadings” and by “affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file’ designate ‘specific facts’ ” showing there exist genuine issues for trial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Cottle v. Storer Communication, Inc., 849 F.2d 570, 575 (11th Cir.1988). “If the non-moving party fails to ‘make a sufficient showing on an essential element of her case with respect to which she has the burden of proof,’ then the court must enter summary judgment for the moving party.” Gonzalez v. Lee County Housing Authority, 161 F.3d at 1294 (11th Cir.1998). Bare speculation based on loose construal of the evidence will not satisfy the non-movant’s burden. See id. While the district court is permitted to consider the offered “pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any” in deciding whether to grant or deny a summary judgment motion, Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c), the non-movant bears the absolute responsibility of designating the specific facts in the record that support its claims. See United States v. Four Parcels of Real Property in Greene and Tuscaloosa Counties in the State of Alabama, 941 F.2d 1428, 1438 (11th Cir.1991); Jones v. Sheehan, Young & Culp, P.C., 82 F.3d 1334, 1338 (5th Cir.1996). In other words, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 “does not impose upon the district court a duty to survey the entire record in search of edidence to support a non-movant’s opposition.” Id. See also Resolution Trust Corp. v. Dunmar Corp., 43 F.3d 587, 599 (11th Cir.) (“There is no burden upon the district court to distill every potential argument that could be made based upon the materials before it on summary judgment.”), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 817, 116 S.Ct. 74, 133 L.Ed.2d 33 (1995). In resolving whether a given factual dispute requires submission to a jury, the court must inspect the presented evidence through the looking glass of each party’s substantive evidentiary burden. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 254-55, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Nonetheless, the court must abstain from examining the probity of conflicting evidence and from deciding issues of credibility. Welch v. Celotex Corp., 951 F.2d 1235, 1237 (11th Cir.1992). “It is not part of the court’s function, when deciding a motion for summary judgment, to decide issues of material fact, but rather decide whether such issues exist to be tried. The Court must avoid weighing conflicting evidence or making credibility determinations.” Hairston v. Gainesville Sun Publishing Co., 9 F.3d 913, 919 (11th Cir.1993). Still though, “[t]he nonmoving party must provide more than a mere scintilla of evidence to survive a motion for judgment as a matter of law; ‘there must be a substantial conflict in evidence to support a jury question.’” Tidwell v. Carter Products, 135 F.3d 1422, 1425 (11th Cir.1998) (citing Carter v. City of Miami, 870 F.2d 578, 581 (11th Cir.1989)). Facts On November 21, 1996, Bevill, an employee of UAB Walker College (“College”), came into possession of photographs of a young male student of the College taken by her supervisor, Pickering. To the Plaintiff, the photographs seemed unquestionably inappropriate, as they depicted the student in either bikini underwear or a swimsuit and focused on the genital regions of that student’s body. She was apparently aware that the student who was the subject of the photographs was under consideration for a paid position as a recruiting “ambassador” for the College. The Plaintiff came to the conclusion that the photographs were the result of sexual intimidation and harassment by Pickering and called the offices of the Academic Dean, Jerry Dollar (“Dollar”), and the Interim President of the College, Abrams. Neither individual was on the campus at the time. Unable to reach administration officials, Bevill made copies of either four or six photographs that she found most offensive. She put those reproductions of the photographs in her tote bag and placed the original photographs in an unlocked drawer of her desk. That evening, the Plaintiff attended a basketball game at which the accountant for the campus in charge of payroll maintenance, Carol Morgan (“Morgan”), was present. The Plaintiff, who allegedly considered Morgan to be both a person in authority and Abrams’s assistant, sought out Morgan and showed her the copies she had made of Pickering’s photographs. It is unclear whether the Plaintiff asked Morgan to pass word of the photographs to Abrams or whether she simply expected Morgan to do so on her own initiative. The Plaintiff contends that this was the only time that she discussed with anyone or showed to anyone the offending photographs. The following day, November 22, 1996, the Plaintiff received a telephone call from Abrams. Abrams, who had been informed about the photographs the prior evening by his secretary, indicated his desire that the photographs not be made available for public distribution and stated that the Plaintiff should not discuss the existence of the pictures with anyone. The Plaintiff complied by destroying the reproductions of the photographs that she had made. She then looked for the original photographs, only to discover that they had been removed from her desk and placed in Pickering’s office. Bevill also alleges that beginning on November 22, 1996, Pickering’s treatment of her degraded to the point of incivility. The Plaintiff contends that Pickering alternated between berating' her and ignoring her, because he believed her to be the source of the reports regarding the photographs taken of the student and of the ensuing investigation into his affairs. Allegedly, Pickering’s behavior caused her to feel insignificant and alienated from her job. On November 26, 1996, Abrams and two other deans at the College began an investigation of the appropriateness of Pickering’s behavior in photographing the student and prospective ambassador. Pursuant to that investigation, Abrams interviewed Bevill on December 5, 1996. In the interview, according to notes taken by Abrams, the Plaintiff again promised to keep the matter private. After discussing the matter with other staff who had seen the photographs, Abrams gave all of the material he had collected to the incoming President, Watkins. Watkins instructed Abrams to provide the material to the UAB Human Resources department for further investigation. As a part of the investigation undertaken by UAB Human Resources, Abrams was directed to obtain statements from those persons with whom he had previously spoken. In their statements, three people, Robert Epps, Joan Key and Millie Meadows, indicated that the Plaintiff had either told them about or shown them copies of the photographs taken by Pickering. The Plaintiff, in her statement dated January 21, 1997, .expressed, in great detail, her initial reaction to the photographs when they first arrived in Pickering’s office, but made no mention of whether she had shown the photographs or her copies of the photographs to other people, or to whom she had shown them. On February 13, 1997, Abrams and several individuals from UAB interviewed the Plaintiff. In the interview, Bevill discussed how the photographs had come into her possession and what she had done with the pictures once she had viewed them. The Plaintiff also reported that, prior to Pickering’s photography session with the student, she had been told by another student of the College that Pickering had once made sexually suggestive comments to him. After conducting interviews with the Plaintiff and other individuals who either were employed by the College or were students of the College, UAB concluded that Pickering should be dismissed from his position; he was permitted to resign in lieu of termination. On March 4,1997, Chris Rossi, a Human Relations Representative for UAB, telephoned the Plaintiff and asked her if she had spoken with anyone other than Carol Morgan about the photographs. Contrary to the representations of Robert Epps, Joan Key and Millie Meadows, the Plaintiff asserted that she had not. Three days later, on March 7, 1997, Abrams informed the Plaintiff that she was being removed from her position with the College and gave her the choice of resignation or outright termination. In a memorandum provided to the Plaintiff, Abrams stated: Mary Jo, you exercised very poor judgment regarding copying and subsequent showing of copies of pictures of a student at a basketball game to other staff members of UAB Walker. You indicated in your statements regarding the incident “for the .protection of the school and all involved I tried to hide the pictures till the next morning” and “I have to[o] much concern, love and appreciation of our school and students to approve of this situation”. However, this has not been exhibited by your actions. After talking to you and receiving statements from other UAB Walker employees, it has been decided that your employment with UAB Walker College will terminate effective March 7, 1997/or the following reasons: • Inappropriate Behavior in the Workplace. • Conduct which brings discredit to UAB and UAB Walker College. You should return all property of UAB Walker College immediately. Defendants’ Exhibit B, Appendix 10, at 100 (emphasis added). The Plaintiff chose to resign. After she resigned, Bevill filed a grievance with UAB. After a hearing, the grievance committee recommended that the Plaintiff be reinstated, but disciplined. However, Watkins chose not to follow the grievance committee’s recommendation, and, in a letter dated August 4, 1997, he informed Bevill that her resignation would remain in force. No reasons for Watkins’s decision are given contemporaneously with the letter. Rather, Watkins simply affirmed Abrams’s decision to terminate the Plaintiff. On September 9, 1997, Bevill filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that UAB retaliated against her in violation of Title VII because she complained about the photographs taken by Pickering and alleging also that she was terminated because of her age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. No reference was made to any sexual harassment endured by her. After the Plaintiff filed the charge, UAB twice sought to entirely revoke unemployment compensation from the Plaintiff on the basis that circumstances leading to her resignation involved criminal action. On both appeals, UAB lost. Contentions & Analysis The Plaintiff, in her complaint, raises claims of retaliation in violation of Title VII, sexual harassment in violation of Title VII and retaliation in violation of the First Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. UAB contends that the Plaintiff cannot present a genuine issue of material fact with regard to her Title VII claims and Watkins and Abrams assert, in addition to the argument that the Plaintiff can state no First Amendment retaliation claim, that they are protected by qualified immunity from liability on her First Amendment claims. Each of these arguments will be developed in turn. I. Retaliation claims against UAB undeR Title VII. The Plaintiff claims that Defendant UAB retaliated against her, first, when she was terminated for speaking to Abrams and others, including Morgan, about the photographs made by Pickering and second, when UAB attempted to cut off her unemployment compensation benefits based upon her filing of an EEOC charge. Defendant UAB contends that the Plaintiff cannot raise a genuine issue of material fact against it regarding either claim of retaliation in violation of Title VII. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981a & 2000e, et seq., prohibits retaliation against employees who voice opposition to discrimination that is covered by Title VII or who participate in a proceeding to determine the existence of illegal discrimination. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). Regarding retaliation by an employer for engaging in these protected activities, Title VII states, in relevant part: (a) Discrimination for making charges, testifying, assisting, or participating in enforcement proceedings It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment ... because he has opposed any practice-made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter, or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this subchapter. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). As with an action for employment discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, disability or other protected status, a plaintiff can prove a case of retaliatory treatment by providing direct evidence of retaliatory action, such as statements made by the decisionmaker to the effect that the plaintiff should suffer an adverse job action because she opposed discrimination. See Merritt v. Dillard Paper Co., 120 F.3d 1181, 1189 (11th Cir.1997) (finding direct evidence of retaliation where decisionmaker told employee that his deposition in an earlier case was “damning” and that, consequently, the employee no longer had a job with the employer). A plaintiff can also demonstrate that her employer retaliated against her for engaging in a protected activity through the use of circumstantial evidence. See Taylor v. Runyon, 175 F.3d 861, 868 (11th Cir.1999). Here, the Plaintiff has not grounded either of her claims of retaliation on the presence of direct evidence of retaliation. Instead, Bevill seeks to support her claims of retaliation through the burden-shifting analysis set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973) and explicated through other decisions of the Supreme Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A. TERMINATION CLAIM. In Sullivan v. National R.R. Passenger Corp., 170 F.3d 1056 (11th Cir.1999), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals set out, in short fashion, the requisites of a retaliation claim for all parties in a McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting circumstantial evidence case: To make a prima facie case for retaliation, the plaintiff must show: 1) a statutorily protected expression; 2) an adverse employment action; 3) a causal link between the protected expression and the adverse action. See Olmsted v. Taco Bell Corp., 141 F.3d 1457, 1460 (11th Cir.1998); Raney v. Vinson Guard Service, 120 F.3d 1192, 1196 (11th Cir.1997). Once the plaintiff makes out a prima facie case, “the burden shifts to the defendant to rebut the presumption of retaliation by producing legitimate reasons for the adverse employment action.” Raney, 120 F.3d at 1196 (quoting Hairston v. Gainesville Sun Publishing Co., 9 F.3d 913, 919 (11th Cir.1998)). If the defendant offers legitimate reasons, the presumption of retaliation disappears. Id. The plaintiff must then show that the employer’s proffered reasons for taking the adverse action were actually a pretext for prohibited retaliatory conduct. Olmsted, 141 F.3d at 1460. UAB does not deny that an adverse employment action was taken by it — that is, it concurs that the Plaintiff was terminated. Rather, it argues that the Plaintiffs discussions related to student harassment by Pickering and her display of copies of the photographs to other employees of the College did not constitute protected expression within the meaning of § 2000e-3(a) and that, even if her actions did constitute statutorily protected activity, the Plaintiff still cannot demonstrate a causal connection between her expression and her ultimate termination. UAB argues that the Plaintiffs attempts to demonstrate that she engaged in statutorily protected activity fail on two grounds. First, UAB asserts, the Plaintiffs conduct falls outside of the boundaries of the activities protected by Title VII because she was not complaining about an employment practice made unlawful by Title VII. Instead, she complained about teacher-on-student harassment, a matter entirely unrelated to employment. Second, contends UAB, Bevill’s belief that the subject matter of the photographs taken by Pickering demonstrated activity covered by Title VII was objectively unreasonable. To state a claim of retaliation, the plaintiff must object to conduct that, as a factual matter, touches on an employment practice of the employer, regardless of the reasonableness of a plaintiffs beliefs concerning whether the conduct constituted a violation of Title VII. For example, in Little v. United Technologies, Carrier Transicold Division, 103 F.3d 956, 959 (11th Cir.1997), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that the utterance of one racially derogatory comment by one coworker to another co-worker was not an employment practice because the employer could not have been held responsible for the comment. As such, the complaint about the derogatory comment was not a protected activity — , i.e., opposition to an employment practice of the employer. Id. at 960. In Holt v. Lewis, 955 F.Supp. 1385 (N.D.Ala.1995), affirmed without opinion, 109 F.3d 771, cert. denied, — U.S. —, 118 S.Ct. 67, 139 L.Ed.2d 29 (1997), the plaintiff, a professor at Samford University, complained of the sexual harassment of a student at the University. After making this complaint, the professor’s contract with the University was not renewed. Among other things, the plaintiff complained that he was terminated in violation of Title VII’s retaliation provision because he had complained of harassment of the student. The district court granted the University’s motion for judgment on the pleadings with regard to the claim. In coming to its conclusion's, the district court, in an opinion by Judge Acker, stated: The initial element of plaintiffs prima facie case is “established if [he] can show that he opposed an unlawful employment practice which he reasonably believed occurred.” Bigge v. Albertsons, Inc., 894 F.2d 1497 (11th Cir.1990) (emphasis added). Title VII defines an employment practice as follows: It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer— (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a). “[I]n enacting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congress intended to prohibit all practices in whatever form which create inequality in employment opportunity due to discrimination on the basis of ... sex.... ” Franks v. Bowman Trans. Co., 424 U.S. 747, 763, 96 S.Ct. 1251, 47 L.Ed.2d 444 (1976) (emphasis added). Taking the facts alleged by plaintiff as true, plaintiffs complaint fails to state a cause for retaliation for which relief can be granted under Title VII. Plaintiff alleges that he championed the cause of “a woman student” who was “a victim of sexual discrimination” at Samford. Complaint at ¶ 7 (emphasis added). He has not alleged that this student was discharged from employment, not chosen for employment, or otherwise denied any privilege of employment by Sam-ford. Framing the allegations of the complaint in the light most favorable to plaintiff, he has only asserted that a female student was being unfairly treated by an instructor and that his opposition to this treatment ultimately led to his constructive discharge. This in no way indicts any employment practice on behalf of Samford. Without more, any retaliation by defendant ] for plaintiffs advocacy of a student’s rights is simply not prohibited by Title VII. Id. at 1387-88. The reasoning of the district court in Holt is persuasive; the Plaintiffs statements — to Morgan, Abrams and UAB investigators regarding Pickering’s treatment of the subject of the photographs — concern, in large part, teacher-on-student harassment. Nonetheless, there is a distinguishing characteristic to.this action; arguably, on the recommendation of Pickering, the photographed student either was to be paid or was paid by the College for work done on behalf of Pickering in the recruiting and student affairs department. Were this, in fact, to be the case, the photographed student would be an employee protected from sexual harassment by Title VII. Therefore, if, as the Plaintiff posits, the photographed student either was a candidate for a position with the College or occupied a paid position with the College under the supervision of Pickering, a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that the photographing session was a precondition interposed by Pickering to the student’s being hired into the paid position or to his continuing in that position, and hence, an employment practice within the scope of Title VII. UAB further argues that Bevill’s complaints about Pickering’s harassment of the student in the photographs and her display of those photographs to others was not protected activity because Bevill did not have an objectively reasonable belief that the conduct of Pickering in photographing the student constituted sexual harassment. Under Title VII, it is well established that an employee need not prove the underlying claim of discrimination in order to establish a retaliation claim. Tipton v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, 872 F.2d 1491, 1494 (11th Cir.1989). Instead, an employee’s opposition to the discrimination is protected if she can reasonably form a good faith belief that the alleged discrimination existed. Tipton, 872 F.2d at 1494. Taylor v. Runyon, 175 F.3d at 869 (emphasis added). The requirement that a plaintiffs belief that discrimination occurred be reasonable is both an objective and subjective requirement. See Standard v. A.B.E.L. Services, Inc., 161 F.3d at 1328 (stating that “to satisfy the first element of the prima facie case, it is sufficient that an employee have a good faith, objectively reasonable belief that his activity is protected by the statute”) and Harper v. Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., 139 F.3d 1385, 1388 (11th Cir.1998) (citing Little v. United Technologies, Carrier Transicold Division, 103 F.3d at 960, for the proposition that “it is insufficient for a plaintiff ‘to allege his belief in this regard was honest and bona fide; the allegations and record must also indicate that the belief, though perhaps mistaken, was objectively reasonable’ ”).. In addition, “[t]he objective reasonableness of an employee’s belief that her employer has engaged in an unlawful employment practice must be measured against existing substantive law.” Clover v. Total System Services, Inc., 176 F.3d 1346, 1350 (11th Cir.1999). In support of its contention that the Plaintiff held an objectively unreasonable belief that the photographs demonstrated sexual harassment, UAB states: Foremost, Bevill did nothing beyond reviewing the photographs and having a reaction to them to substantiate her claim that student sexual harassment had taken place. For example, Bevill never reported any conversations between her and Pickering concerning the photographs and the circumstances under which they were taken, and she certainly never talked with the student who was in the photographs to obtain a full accounting of what had occurred. Instead, she based her assumption that harassment had occurred upon alleged previous conversations with students concerning Pickering’s conduct, such alleged wrongful conduct that she had never reported to the administration. It is patently impossible to surmise that sexual harassment occurred from merely viewing the photographs. The individual depicted in the photographs is not nude. Bevill undertook no independent investigation to confirm her suspicions, but merely jumped to a conclusion that sexual harassment had occurred. As such, while she may have subjectively thought she was witnessing sexual harassment, such a belief was not objectively reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances as she knew them at the time she saw the subject photographs. Defendants’ Brief in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment at 24. In so arguing, Defendant UAB attempts to separate the photographs from their context. The Plaintiff had knowledge, through discussions with various students, of prior sexual overtures made by Pickering toward the stüdents of the College. While the photographs in question did not depict Pickering in the act of inappropriately touching the student, they were taken of the student in either bikini underwear or swimwear and focused on the student’s genital region. The mere subject of the photographs, without a context, might not lead a reasonable person to the inevitable conclusion that anything unlawfully inappropriate occurred. However, context matters; and, in the context in which the photographs were presented to the Plaintiff — that of a possible employee of the College being photographed in his underwear by his prospective supervisor, who had previously made other unwelcome and blatant sexual overtures to students — a reasonable person could come to believe that sexual harassment had occurred. Compare Clover v. Total System Services, Inc., 176 F.3d at 1351 (concluding, in dicta, that plaintiff did not have an objectively reasonable belief that conduct reported by plaintiff constituted a sexually hostile work environment where flirting noticed by plaintiff would not, under extant law, demonstrate harassment). Defendant UAB asserts two allegedly nondiscriminatory reasons for the Plaintiffs termination. First, UAB contends, the Plaintiff was terminated because “Be-vill had circulated pictures that she herself had described as ‘lewd, sexually offensive and grossly inappropriate’ of a minor student,” Defendants’ Brief in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment at 19. UAB also asserts that the Plaintiff was terminated for legitimate reasons because “Bevill had been untruthful in representing her involvement in the circulation of the photographs in that during the investigation she consistently represented to Abrams and UAB Employee Relations Department representatives that she had carried the copies of the photographs she had made home and had not shown them to anyone, but [later] admitted to showing them to one person (Carol Morgan).” Id. In Combs v. Plantation Patterns, 106 F.3d 1519, 1528 (11th Cir.1997), cert. denied sub nom., Combs v. Meadowcraft Co., - U.S. -, 118 S.Ct. 685, 139 L.Ed.2d 632 (1998), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals stated: ... The effect of the presumption of discrimination created by establishment of the prima facie case is to shift to the employer the burden of producing legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the challenged employment action. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802[, 93 S.Ct. 1817]; Burdine, 450 U.S. at 254, 101 S.Ct. 1089. To satisfy that burden of production, “[t]he defendant need not persuade the court that it was actually motivated by the proffered reasons. It is sufficient if the defendant’s evidence raises a genuine issue of fact as to whether it discriminated against the plaintiff.” Burdine, 450 U.S. at 254-55, [101 S.Ct. 1089] (citation and footnote omitted). “[T]o satisfy this intermediate burden, the employer need only produce admissible evidence which would allow the trier of fact rationally to conclude that the employment decision had not been motivated by discriminatory animus.” Id. at 257[101 S.Ct. 1089] (emphasis added). The burden on the employer to come forward with a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason is “exceedingly light.” See Meeks v. Computer Assocs. Int’l, 15 F.3d 1013, 1019 (11th Cir.1994). Indeed, an employer “is not required to convince the district court that it was actually motivated by the reasons advanced,” as “the employer bears only the burden of production, not the burden of persuasion.” Crawford v. Western Elec. Co., Inc., 745 F.2d 1373, 1376 (11th Cir.1984), reh’g denied, 751 F.2d 394. However, “the employer must articulate in a reasonably specific manner the legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons” for its employment decision. Id. In addition, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals “has squarely held that an employer may not satisfy its burden of production by offering a justification which the employer either did not know or did not consider at the time the decision was made.” Turnes v. AmSouth Bank, NA, 36 F.3d 1057, 1061 (11th Cir.1994). The reason for the termination given by UAB that the Plaintiff was “untruthful” will be treated first. While there is evidence arguably indicating that the Plaintiff was, in fact, “untruthful” in her relations with Abrams and the individuals investigating Pickering’s actions, UAB has failed to offer anything at the present stage beyond a meager scintilla of evidence that such reason was offered for her termination contemporaneous with that termination. The document to which Defendant UAB refers in claiming that “untruthfulness” was a reason for the termination, drafted by Abrams, states that the “reasons I assume were used” by the Human Resources Department for terminating the Plaintiff included her untruthfulness in not stating that she had shown the photographs to Morgan (emphasis added). Further, no other memorandum contemporaneous with the Plaintiffs termination states her “untruthfulness” as a reason for her dismissal. In the deposition which relates to the drafting of the memorandum, no date for the memorandum is offered by Abrams; rather, the attorney speaking with Abrams offers a date which Abrams neither confirms nor denies. “Untruthfulness” as a basis for termination apparently appears as a basis for sustaining the termination in memoranda drafted after the initial termination decision. A reasonable trier of fact could, without difficulty conclude that the “untruthfulness” rationale for the Plaintiffs termination stated in Abrams’s memorandum, which only speculates on a reason for the termination, cannot count as a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the termination, as the reason is not contemporaneous with the decision made by Abrams. Further, that “untruthfulness” became a reason for later ratification of the Plaintiffs termination by Watkins does not allow it to be considered as a basis for the earlier termination. In Delaware State College v. Ricks, 449 U.S. at 261, 101 S.Ct. 498, the Supreme Court held that the 180-day period within which a plaintiff complaining of employment discrimination must file an EEOC charge begins to run on the date that the plaintiff is terminated, not the date on which the plaintiffs grievance based on the termination was denied. Similarly here, the Plaintiffs claim began to run on the date of her termination, not the date that Watkins informed the Plaintiff that he was ratifying the termination. Id. (“The grievance procedure, by its nature, is a remedy for a prior decision, not an opportunity to influence that decision before it is made.”). On the flip side of that coin, only those reasons that were offered at the time of the termination itself can be employed to legitimize that termination. To permit otherwise would require a plaintiff to begin acting on a completed adverse employment action while allowing the employer to create post-hoc rationales for the employment action. The second averredly legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason offered by the Defendant UAB, that the Plaintiff had engaged in inappropriate behavior by showing the photographs to Morgan, also cannot constitute a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason. Taken at its worst, the reason offered by Defendant UAB is little more than a complaint that the Plaintiff engaged in protected activity through the wrong person. However, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) does not specify that opposition to an employment practice must be made to a supervisor, or any other particular party, to constitute protected activity. Therefore, the rationale that the Plaintiff complained to the “wrong” individual is not a viable legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the termination. To whom opposition, to employment discrimination is voiced is irrelevant when it is being voiced. Further, UAB has presented no reason to think and there exists no reason to believe, that this miscomplaint would have been the basis for termination were her complaint not activity opposing harassment. Had the Plaintiff complained about a broken water fountain or a student’s grades, there is no doubt that the Plaintiffs complaining to the wrong member of the staff would have been considered little more than an innocuous misstep. This is not a case in which the defendant contends that the plaintiff is not opposing harassment, but engaging in idle gossip, nor is it a case in which the reason articulated for the termination is that the manner in which the opposition to harassment was voiced caused harm to the victim of the harassment. Rather, the reason offered by Defendant UAB amounts to little more than that it terminated her because she attempted to engage in protected activity and, as such, does not even qualify as a legitimate reason. As the Plaintiffs claims of retaliatory termination against UAB have arguable merit, the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment will be DENIED on this claim. B. Revocation Of Unemployment Benefits. The Plaintiff also claims that UAB retaliated against her in violation of Title VII when it attempted to revoke her unemployment benefits after she filed her EEOC charge. There is no doubt that the Plaintiffs filing of an EEOC charge constituted protected activity under the statute and that UAB’s attempts at revocation of those benefits followed closely enough on the heels of the filing of the charge of discrimination to permit a reasonable trier of fact to believe that the attempts at revocation of the benefits were related to the filing of the EEOC charge. But, it does not follow from this that the attempts to revoke the Plaintiffs benefits constituted an adverse job action. A post-termination employment-related action, such as opposition to a request for unemployment benefits, may sometimes be considered an adverse employment action. See Baker v. Summit Unlimited, Inc., 855 F.Supp. 375, (N.D.Ga.1994) (stating, in the context of a retaliation action based upon the defendant’s opposition to payment of unemployment compensation benefits that 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) “has been interpreted by a majority of circuits to include discriminatory acts conducted post-termination against former employees,” but concluding that “initiating legal proceedings against a former employee who filed an EEOC charge may be appropriate as long as shown not to be in retaliation and brought in good faith”). However, the mere initiation of the proceedings, in and of itself, does not constitute an adverse action unless the employer prevails. Otherwise, the Plaintiff has not been harmed — , i.e., her right to receive unemployment benefits is unimpaired. It is, therefore, the case that Be-vill cannot state a claim of retaliation based upon UAB’s actions in attempting to deny unemployment compensation benefits to her. The Defendant’s motion for summary judgment on this issue will be GRANTED. The Plaintiffs claim of retaliations premised on UAB’s attempts to deny unemployment compensation benefits will be DISMISSED, with prejudice. II. Sexual Harassment. The Plaintiff claims that she was subjected to sexual harassment by Pickering for which UAB is liable. Allegedly, after Pickering discovered the Plaintiffs knowledge of the photographs he had taken of the student, Pickering began to belittle the Plaintiff, yell at her and treat her as insignificant. UAB contends that the facts, as presented by the Plaintiff, do not support her claim of sexual harassment against it, first, because the comments were not severe and pervasive enough to create a hostile and abusive workplace and, second, because, whatever else his motivations may have been, Pickering’s rude treatment of the Plaintiff was not based upon sex. In her reply brief, the Plaintiff does not respond to UAB’s contention that the Plaintiff cannot state a claim of sexual harassment in violation of Title YII against it. Therefore, in order to prevail on summary judgment, UAB need only present some factual grounds supporting its arguments that the Plaintiff does not raise a genuine issue of material fact on the disputed elements of her sex harassment claim — , i.e., it must present some meager factual support for either its argument that Pickering’s action was not sufficiently severe and pervasive or its claim that the harassment was not based upon sex. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. UAB has put forward sufficient evidence to demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of triable fact that Pickering’s treatment of the Plaintiff was motivated by sex. Because the harassment of the Plaintiff, to the extent that such occurred, is not rooted in sex, Bevill’s .claim of sexual harassment fails. See Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U.S. 75, -, 118 S.Ct. 998, 1002, 140 L.Ed.2d 201 (1998). Therefore, the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment with respect to this claim will be Granted and the Plaintiffs claim of sexual harassment against UAB in violation of Title VII will be Dismissed, with prejudice. III. Retaliation In Violation Of The First Amendment. The Plaintiff claims that Defendant Abrams retaliated against her in violation of her First Amendment free speech rights, actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, by terminating her after she complained about Pickering’s sexual harassment both “publicly” to Morgan when she displayed to Morgan copies of photographs that indicated sexually inappropriate conduct by Pickering and “privately” when Bevill was interviewed by Abrams and UAB. She also claims that Defendant Watkins retaliated against her by ratifying her termination in the grievance proceeding for engaging in the same constitutionally protected activity. The bases for her retaliation claims against Watkins and Abrams are essentially the same as those given for her Title VII retaliatory termination claim. She seeks to have Abrams found liable because he initially terminated the Plaintiff on account of her actions and to have Watkins found liable because he ultimately ratified the termination on grounds that were retaliatory. Beyond the argument that the Plaintiff cannot raise a genuine issue of triable fact on the substantive constitutional claims — an argument which repeats many of the contentions raised by UAB in its argument with regard to its liability under Title VII already considered herein, Abrams and Watkins also contend that they enjoy qualified immunity from suit on Plaintiffs First Amendment retaliation claims. The Plaintiff responds that she has stated a claim that her First Amendment free speech rights were violated and that neither Watkins nor Abrams is entitled to qualified immunity in the instant action. ... [Section] 1983 allow[s] a plaintiff to seek money damages from government officials who have violated his Fourth Amendment rights. See § 1983[ ]. But government officials performing discretionary functions generally are granted a qualified immunity and are “shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). ... A court evaluating a claim of qualified immunity “must first determine whether the plaintiff has alleged the deprivation of an actual constitutional right at all, and if so, proceed to determine whether that right was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation.” Conn v. Gabbert, 526 U.S. [286], -[, 119 S.Ct. 1292, 143 L.Ed.2d 399 ](1999) (slip op., at 4). This order of procedure is designed to “spare a defendant not only unwarranted liability, but unwarranted demands customarily imposed upon those defending a long drawn-out lawsuit.” Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U.S. 226, 232, 111 S.Ct. 1789, 114 L.Ed.2d 277 (1991). Deciding the constitutional question before addressing the qualified immunity question also promotes clarity in the legal standards for official conduct, to the benefit of both the officers and the general public. See County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 840-842, n. 5, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1998). Wilson v. Layne, 526 U.S. 603, -, 119 S.Ct. 1692, 1697, 143 L.Ed.2d 818 (1999) (emphasis added). The first issue to be addressed will be that of whether the Plaintiff can demonstrate the existence of a constitutional right violated by Watkins and Abrams. If it is determined that the Plaintiff states a constitutional claim under existing law, it will then be determined whether such right was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation — , i.e., on or before March 7, 1997, as to the claim against Abrams and on or before August 4, 1997, regarding the claim against Watkins. A. Constitutional Violation. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, as incorporated through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, limits the power of a state or local government to regulate the ability of its citizens to engage in free expression. Fiske v. Kansas, 274 U.S. 380, 386-87, 47 S.Ct. 655, 71 L.Ed. 1108 (1927). The government’s power to quash the unflattering speech of a private individual is greatly circumscribed; however, its power to restrict the unfavorable commentary of its employees in matters related to employment is somewhat more broad. See United States v. National Treasury Employees Union, 513 U.S. 454, 465-66, 115 S.Ct. 1003, 130 L.Ed.2d 964 (1995); Waters v. Churchill, 511 U.S. 661, 671, 114 S.Ct. 1878, 128 L.Ed.2d 686 (1994) (“the government as employer ... has far broader powers than does the government as sovereign”) (plurality opinion). While “a state cannot condition public employment on a basis that infringes the employee’s constitutionally protected interest in freedom of expression,” see Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 142, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983), “private speech that involves nothing more- than a complaint about a change in the employee’s own duties may give rise to discipline without imposing any special burden of justification on the government employer.” United States v. National Treasury Employees Union, 513 U.S. at 466, 115 S.Ct. 1003. The Supreme Court developed the law pertaining to a litigant’s claims of retaliation in violation of the First Amendment in the cases of Pickering v. Board of Education of Township High School District 205, Will County, Illinois, 391 U.S. 563, 568, 88 S.Ct. 1731, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968) and Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708. In Pickering, the plaintiff published in the local newspaper a letter critical of certain funding policies of the school at which she was employed. After publication of the letter, the plaintiff was terminated. She then filed an action against the school board for a violation of the First Amendment. The plaintiffs claim of retaliation, which had been rejected at the state court level, was accepted by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court stated that, while a government employee should not be required to sacrifice the First Amendment rights she would otherwise enjoy because of her employment by the government, “it cannot be gainsaid that the State has interests as an employer in regulating the speech of its employees that differ significantly from those it possesses in connection with regulation of the speech of the citizenry in general.” Pickering v. Board of Education of Township High School Dist. 205, Will County, Illinois, 391 U.S. at 569, 88 S.Ct. 1731. Attempting to strike that balance, the Court first noted that the matters of the speech at issue were of public concern. Id. It also drew attention to the fact that the plaintiffs statements did not upset the inner workings of the defendant school board and did not hinder a confidential relationship between the school and its employees. Id. This being the case, the Court concluded that the school board could not retaliate against the plaintiff for her speech. Id. In Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 75 L.Ed.2d 708, the plaintiff, an assistant district attorney in the City of New Orleans, Louisiana, was terminated by the district attorney, Harry Connick, for circulating in the district attorney’s office a survey which included questions concerning whether the assistant district attorneys felt pressured to work for the campaigns of the district attorney. The plaintiff filed an action claiming that Con-nick had retaliated against her in violation of the First Amendment. The district court found that the plaintiff was entitled to relief and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed. The Court first stated that “[wjhen employee expression cannot be fairly considered as relating to any matter of political, social, or other concern to the community, government officials should enjoy wide latitude in managing their offices, without intrusive oversight by the judiciary in the name of the First Amendment.” Id. at 146, 103 S.Ct. 1684. Only in an exceptional circumstance, the Court observed, would an employee be able to present a First Amendment retaliation claim to a federal court. Id. at 147, 103 S.Ct. 1684. The Court determined, however, that one element of the plaintiffs questionnaire did involve a matter of public concern, the question regarding whether assistant district attorneys felt pressured to work on Connick’s political campaign. The Court, although finding a matter of public concern, stated that the plaintiffs interest in raising that concern needed to be balanced against countervailing concerns of “the government’s interest in the effective and efficient fulfillment of its responsibilities to the public.” Id. The Court noted that the questionnaire at issue had the potential to upset office affairs and lead to a mini-insurrection in the office. Id. at 152-53, 103 S.Ct. 1684. It also pointed out that the context of the plaintiffs speech indicated that the speech was meant to question the authority of the office. Id. Concluding that the balance between the plaintiffs interest in speaking and the government’s interest in “effective and efficient” government administration fell on the side of the government, the Court dismissed the plaintiffs claim. In Beckwith v. City of Daytona Beach Shores, Fla., 58 F.3d 1554, 1563-64 (11th Cir.1995), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals summed up, in a concrete form, the Pickering-Connick analysis: The First Amendment protects government employees from some, but not all, restraints on their right of free expression. See, e.g., United States v. National Treasury Employees Union, 513 U.S. 454, 463, 115 S.Ct. 1003, 1012[, 130 L.Ed.2d 964] (1995); Pickering v. Board of Ed., 391 U.S. 563, 568, [88 S.Ct. 1731, 1734, 20 L.Ed.2d 811] (1968). This Circuit examines First Amendment retaliatory discharge claims under the four part test announced in Bryson v. City of Waycross, 888 F.2d 1562 (11th Cir.1989). Tindal, 32 F.3d at 1539; Morgan, 6 F.3d at 754. The Bryson test examines (1) whether the employee’s speech involves a matter of public concern, (2) whether the employee’s interest in speaking outweighs the government’s legitimate interest in efficient public service, (3) whether the speech played a substantial part in the government’s challenged employment decision, and (4) whether the government would have made the same employment decision in the absence of the protected conduct. Bryson, 888 F.2d at 1565-66. Abrams and Watkins deny that they can be held liable in the instant action, (1) because the Plaintiffs speech and her distribution of the photographs did not touch on a matter of public concern and (2) because Bevill’s interest in speaking did not outweigh the College’s interest in efficient public service. The Plaintiff responds that her speech concerning sexual harassment touched on a public concern and that her interest in speaking out about such harassment clearly outweighed any interest of the College in efficient public service. The issue of whether the Plaintiffs speech played a substantial or determining role in either the termination by Abrams or the ratification of the termination by Watkins will also be addressed. 1. Whether the Plaintiffs speech touched on a matter of public concern. As an initial matter, in resolving the Plaintiffs First Amendment retaliation claim, it must first be determined whether the Plaintiffs speech touched on a matter of public concern. Rankin v. McPherson, 483 U.S. 378, 384, 107 S.Ct. 2891, 97 L.Ed.2d 315 (1987); Morris v. Crow, 142 F.3d 1379, 1381 (11th Cir.1998); and Merriweather v. Alabama Dept. of Public Safety, 17 F.Supp.2d 1260, 1278 (M.D.Ala.1998). A state or municipality cannot freely terminate an employee or condition any aspect of public employment on her speech involving matters of public concern. Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, 497 U.S. 62, 74, 110 S.Ct. 2729, 2736, 111 L.Ed.2d 52 (1990). However, “when a public employee speaks not as a citizen upon matters of public concern, but instead as an employee upon matters only of personal interest, absent the most unusual circumstances, a federal court is not the appropriate forum in which to review the wisdom of a personnel decision taken by a public agency allegedly in reaction to the employee’s behavior.” Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. at 147, 103 S.Ct. 1684. In deciding whether the speech of the Plaintiff regarding Pickering’s sexual harassment of students touches on a matter of public concern, other cases relevant to the question that have been decided by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals will be first examined. The first of these cases is Deremo v. Watkins, 939 F.2d 908 (11th Cir.1991). In Deremo, the plaintiffs, in a private meeting, complained to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Lake County, Florida, about harassment from their supervisor. The clerk requested the plaintiffs to remain quiet about the harassment and told them that they would be compensated for being subjected to the harassment. The clerk then approached the allegedly harassing supervisor, who resigned in lieu of termination. Six months later, the plaintiffs sent letters to the clerk, indicating that they still expected compensation for enduring the harassment. Immediately after the letters were delivered, the plaintiffs were terminated. Id. at 909. The plaintiffs filed suit, claiming that they had been subjected to retaliation for speaking about sexual harassment. At a trial on the retaliation claim, the district court entered a directed verdict for the defendants. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court, finding that the plaintiffs’ speech in writing the letters did not touch on a matter of public concern. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals first noted various factors to be considered in analyzing whether the speech of the employee touched on a matter of public concern: In applying the “content, form, and context” analysis, the Supreme Court has directed courts to consider whether the speech at issue was made in the employee’s role as citizen or as employee. Connick, 103 S.Ct. at 1690. In addition, courts have considered “the employee’s efforts to communicate his or her concerns to the public” and “the content of the speech.” Kurtz, 855 F.2d at 727. Also relevant is the employee’s motivation in speaking. Ferrara, 781 F.2d at 1515. Id. at 910-11 (footnotes omitted). Because the plaintiffs had been requested by the administration to keep the matter discrete, the Deremo court chose not to weigh the public communication factor against the plaintiffs. Id. at 910 n. 3. However, the Deremo court concluded, the speech in question did not involve a public concern: ... All three letters mentioned the sexual harassment of appellants by Don Peroddy. Deremo’s letter expressed her disappointment regarding her lack of promotion to Peroddy’s former position, and the letters by Fox and Mills referred to their compliance with Watkins’ request that appellants remain silent about the Peroddy situation. The action requested by the letters was in the form of individual compensation to each respective signatory. We assume that an employee’s complaint to a superior reporting the wrongful conduct of a public official, including sexual harassment, would ordinarily be a matter of public concern. We also assume that the public concern aspect would not ordinarily be negated by the fact that the employee seeks compensation in addition to elimination of the ■wrongful conduct. In this case, however, appellants wrote the letters seeking compensation approximately six months after Watkins had eliminated the atmosphere of sexual harassment. Peroddy had resigned six months before the letters were written, and the record reflects that the atmosphere in the office thereafter had been completely free of that problem. The context in the instant case suggests that the claims for compensation were purely personal and unrelated to any purpose to serve the public goal of insuring that public offices are free of sexual harassment. Not only were the letters seeking compensation written six months after the problem in the office had been completely resolved, but the immediate triggering event for writing the letters was appellants’ learning via a newspaper article that personal compensation had been awarded in another sexual harassment case. Appellants failed to carry their burden of proof in the district court of establishing that their letters implicated a matter of public concern. Under the particular circum