Suspended Texas A&M professor denies saying Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick believes overdose victims “deserve to die.”
In a statement provided by the university Wednesday, Alonzo responded, “A comment I made during a 2-hour lecture on March 7 regarding opioid overdose education and naloxone administration was mischaracterized and misconstrued. I’ve given this same presentation about 1,000 times across the state over the past few years, and I also have trained others to provide the same presentation. At no time did I say anyone deserved to die from an overdose.”
Buckingham did not hear Alonzo’s comments directly, but her daughter, who is a medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch, attended Alonzo’s March lecture. Buckingham then alerted Patrick, who called Sharp and asked him to look into Alonzo’s comments.
Patrick’s op-ed confirmed the Tribune’s previous reporting, which found that Buckingham called to alert him that Alonzo allegedly made a statement critical of him. Patrick said he then “simply asked [Sharp] to look into the matter and determine what was actually said.”
“I would do this on behalf of any student or parent who called our office with a similar complaint,” he added.
Patrick characterized the statement that Alonzo allegedly made as a “false and inappropriate personal attack on me” but did not specify what she actually said. Neither UTMB nor Texas A&M has confirmed what Alonzo said that prompted such a reaction from university officials. UTMB students interviewed by the Tribune recalled a vague reference to Patrick’s office but nothing specific.
In a statement provided by the university Wednesday, Alonzo responded, “A comment I made during a 2-hour lecture on March 7 regarding opioid overdose education and naloxone administration was mischaracterized and misconstrued. I’ve given this same presentation about 1,000 times across the state over the past few years, and I also have trained others to provide the same presentation. At no time did I say anyone deserved to die from an overdose.”
Buckingham did not hear Alonzo’s comments directly, but her daughter, who is a medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch, attended Alonzo’s March lecture. Buckingham then alerted Patrick, who called Sharp and asked him to look into Alonzo’s comments.
Patrick’s op-ed confirmed the Tribune’s previous reporting, which found that Buckingham called to alert him that Alonzo allegedly made a statement critical of him. Patrick said he then “simply asked [Sharp] to look into the matter and determine what was actually said.”
“I would do this on behalf of any student or parent who called our office with a similar complaint,” he added.
Patrick characterized the statement that Alonzo allegedly made as a “false and inappropriate personal attack on me” but did not specify what she actually said. Neither UTMB nor Texas A&M has confirmed what Alonzo said that prompted such a reaction from university officials. UTMB students interviewed by the Tribune recalled a vague reference to Patrick’s office but nothing specific.
Ultimately, Texas A&M allowed Alonzo to keep her job after an internal investigation could not confirm she had done anything wrong. In the statement provided by Texas A&M on Wednesday, Alonzo said she agreed to go on administrative leave and was satisfied with the outcome, which she said “exonerated me of wrongdoing.”
McElroy told the Tribune that the university watered down its offer from a tenured position to a one-year contract after she was told that people in the system were concerned about hiring her because she was Black and used to work at The New York Times. Outside groups also raised concerns about her diversity, equity and inclusion work. Some university administrators have resigned in the aftermath, including former university President M. Katherine Banks.
