Lloyd v. Drake University

STREIT, Justice.

A Drake University security guard tried to forcibly subdue a black football player at a university-sponsored street-painting event. The security guard thought the football player was assaulting a female student. The security guard’s actions, which were caught on videotape, ignited a media firestorm and inflamed racial passions. He was eventually fired.

The security guard sued for wrongful discharge, defamation, and fraudulent misrepresentation. His wrongful-discharge claim was premised upon the theory that, notwithstanding our long tradition of at-will employment, it is wrong…