The ex-vice principal at a Washington Catholic school said he was removed from his position after he married his partner.
Mark Zmuda revealed in a YouTube video uploaded over the weekend that he didn't resign from his post, as was initially reported by officials at the Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish, the Associated Press reported.
He said that he was let go after news surfaced that he'd married his male partner. His higher-up, Sister Mary Tracy, also said that he could keep his place at the school by simply getting a divorce.
"It was a piece of paper, they said, that was the reason that I was being let go," Zmuda stated in the video, in which one of his past students interviewed him about the entire ordeal.
He immediately recoiled at the head of the school's suggestion. He said he was floored that she was even implying that divorce was an option, and turned her down instantly.
Mike Patterson, who works as the attorney for the school, told the Associated Press that he remembered speaking with Zmuda twice in December - once over the phone and one time in person - when he confirmed that he'd resigned from his position. He added that Tracy's suggestion for divorce wasn't to be taken literally.
"I think it was asked in a hypothetical fashion out of frustration more than anything else," Patterson told AP.
Patterson said that Zmuda's resignation stemmed from a breach of contractual agreements he made when he first began working at the school, including the church's stance against same-sex unions.
Zmuda said that he has received staggering support from students who are trying to spread the word of his case via social media.
Dozens of his former pupils assembled in front of the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle on Saturday for a protest, AP reported.
"They're the ones really making and starting this change," Zmuda said.
About 900 students attend classes at Eastside Catholic.
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