Upthread, you accused Mr. Meriwether of behaving unprofessionally.
Correct.
Misgendering a student is, on the face of it, unprofessional behavior.
I also pointed out that I'm sure that there's a lot more to the story.
But I think it's a dead cert that Mr. Meriwether doesn't see himself that way. He thinks he was perfectly reasonable and professional.
I'm not a mind reader, but I sincerely doubt that is true. I have no way of knowing, but I strongly suspect that Meriwether knows that his word choice was unprofessional. But the disproportionate response was the problem. Even more unprofessional behavior from the student and administrative staff is why he got a big settlement.
Why did you do that? You did it because that's your opinion.
It's my opinion that civility and respect for others is the best way to go.
Are you disagreeing?
Here's hypothetical question.
Restaurant worker gets a complaint about her French fries order.
Customer: "I didn't get as many fries as I usually do.
Professional:
A)You weigh at least 300 pounds. You shouldn't be eating fries at all.
That would be the honest and accurate response.
B) I'm sorry ma'am. You're right. Let me get some more fries and make your serving really big.
B) would be the correct response.
Because in professional settings, sometimes honest and accurate aren't the correct choices.
Tom