Mizzou investigates professor over months-old remarks about DEI

Sociology professor Wayne Brekhus is in trouble.

Why? Because Brekhus talked about research and academic practices at his university. 

Last week, a video recorded by Accuracy in Media went viral on X. In it, Brekhus said the University of Missouri’s changes to DEI operations were “mostly cosmetic,” and campus members have “found clever ways to continue to have DEI centers but not call them that.” He added that restrictions on DEI activities had been “tough on research,” but had not affected curricula as severely. The video was recorded in January 2026, but only gained public attention when a prominent school-choice activist posted the video on his X account. 

In response to the attention, Mizzou announced an investigation into Brekhus’ conduct and stated that “Mizzou voluntarily eliminated all DEI programs and DEI requirements in the curriculum” and “has complied with all federal directives to end DEI research projects.” The university also posted an apology from Brekhus, in which he said, “I am fully aware that Mizzou no longer has DEI programs and does not conduct DEI research.”

First off, Brekhus should not be punished by Mizzou for his statements in the video. His commentary is protected under the First Amendment, because faculty academic freedom includes speech on matters of scholarship and teaching. Investigating him months later — after the video drew public attention — suggests that Mizzou is reacting to negative public attention.

The second problem is Mizzou’s insistence that it “complied with all federal directives to end DEI research projects.” The Missouri state government did take action to restrict DEI offices in the state, both through an executive order and through appropriations bills (though the governor’s office signaled that its executive order does not apply to state universities). The 2026 appropriations bill prohibits funding for DEI offices or their equivalents, but the best interpretation of the language indicates that the restrictions don’t prohibit classroom discussion or faculty speech related to DEI. FIRE previously wrote about the federal directives concerning DEI programming and how the implementation thereof could implicate speech rights. 

However, whether or not Mizzou is complying with federal directives does not have a significant bearing on its treatment of Brekhus, who appears to be under investigation for clearly protected speech.

So, a professor shared his perspective on university matters. Several months later, the university launched an investigation into his conduct because of it. If this newly viral video is the crux of the investigation, Mizzou must end its investigation without disciplining Brekhus.

The investigation into Brekhus is egregious on its own. And FIRE has been on the record raising our concerns about how federal directives can implicate protected speech. We’ve reached out to Mizzou to learn more about the situation.