my two cents...$100K isn't F.U. walk away money. $25K or less would be for a joke case without any legal merit.
she claims he berated her in the locker room at halftime of that game. There are 20+ witnesses to that. If he didn't, he'd have 20+ players to come to his defense.
most likely case, she was underperforming on the field and/or in practice, he was annoyed by that, then also the kneeling thing furthered his disappointment and broke the camel's back. In these situations, there's usually more than one thing going on.
Regardless of your stance to kneel or not kneel, sounds like another soccer coach who doesn't know how to approach player issues/problems professionally. Give credit to this young adult player. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe in and pursue it legally and publicly, regardless of what political side of the fence the issue falls.
Here, a $100k settlement does not suggest culpability. The facts (not the speculation) suggest it is bs, yet a few people here were clearly triggered by the mere allegation and are reaching conclusions without knowing anything. I mean, here you are picking sides without knowing a single actual fact, including what Karen even claims Adair told her. Now imagine how much greater a risk exists of a triggered maga jury in Blacksburg VA. The risks, especially with smaller juries in federal courts, were very real even if the facts all point one direction. It's no surprise that the school settled, especially since it would likely cost about that much in attorney fees just to try the case.
As for your assertion that Adair should have 20+ players come to his defense, he did. Read the letter calling bs on Karen. 17 players who were on the roster at the time signed off on it, including one who didn't kneel. More stepped up to the plate in the lawsuit. In fact, one of the women who didn't kneel was the one who called Karen out to her coach right before halftime of the UVA game, accusing her of "bitching and moaning" and yelling at teammates for things that were her fault. Those were exactly what Adair reiterated to Karen at halftime.
Can you imagine how reviled you must be on a team when 17 of your teammates call you a liar in an open letter, and not a single one publicly comes to your defense?