Hunter College leaders have put on leave a professor who was caught on a hot mic making disparaging comments about the intelligence of black students.

President Nancy Cantor made the announcement Wednesday “amid mounting pressure from elected officials and families to remove Allyson Friedman, a tenured associate professor in the college’s Department of Biological Sciences,” the New York Times reported.

“Dr. Cantor said in a message to the campus that Dr. Friedman would remain on leave until the college completes an investigation into whether the professor’s conduct violated school policies,” the Times reported.

The controversy began during a Feb. 10 Community Education Council meeting focused on a plan to close some city schools. The meeting was also taking place online, and Friedman did not realize her mic was on when she made the remarks.

As a black student addressed the meeting, praising her teachers and speaking against the closure of her school, the professor could be heard saying “they’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school,” according to a recording of the meeting.

She also said “if you train a Black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back. You don’t have to tell them anymore.”

According to the Times, Friedman “appeared to be referencing comments made earlier in the meeting by the leader of the local school district, Reginald Higgins. He had mentioned Carter G. Woodson, the scholar known as the father of Black history, who said, ‘If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told.'”

In a statement to ABC News, Friedman apologized for her remarks, saying they were taken out of context and do not reflect her personal views.

“During a recent online CEC3 meeting, I was trying to explain the concept of systemic racism to my child by referencing an example of an obviously racist trope,” Friedman said in a statement to ABC News. “Due to an inadvertent unmute, only part of that conversation was captured.”

“My complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group. I fully support these courageous students in their efforts to stop school closures. However, I recognize these comments caused harm and pain, while that was not my intent I do truly apologize.”

FIRE Director of Faculty Legal Defense Zach Greenberg said in a statement the suspension was the wrong decision.

“Amid pressure from lawmakers, including New York City Mayor Mamdani, Hunter College escalated its punishment of Professor Allyson Friedman by suspending her for her hot-mic commentary about systemic racism at a local school meeting,” Greenberg said.

“Dr. Friedman said her comments were taken out of context and were intended to paraphrase a famous criticism of systemic racism in education from black historian Carter G. Woodson. Regardless, the fundamental First Amendment rights of public college professors are not subject to the whims of their critics,” he added.

“Faculty have the right to discuss public issues off-hours. Dr. Friedman’s commentary — about issues at a school her child goes to — is precisely the kind of political speech protected by the First Amendment.”

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