A judge has dismissed a professor’s lawsuit against a small, public university in southern Ohio that rebuked him for not addressing a transgender student using the student’s preferred gender terms.

Nicholas Meriwether’s federal lawsuit alleged that Shawnee State University officials violated his rights by compelling him to speak in a way that contradicts his Christian beliefs.

The school contended such language was part of his job responsibilities, not speech protected by the First Amendment.

A federal judge agreed that the manner in which Meriwether addressed the student wasn’t protected under the First Amendment.