LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) – Liberty University is responding to a complaint from a former spokesperson alleging he was fired in retaliation for raising concerns about handling charges of sexual misconduct.

The Virginia Evangelical School filed its responses to Scott Lamb’s complaint last week, asking for more than $ 3 million and a gag order for Lamb, media reported.

Lamb, an executive vice president at the school he was hired in in 2018, alleges in his lawsuit that he was fired in October for engaging in an activity protected by Title IX, the federal law that protects against sex discrimination in education, after challenging the university’s handling of complaints.

Lamb said in an interview with the Associated Press that he pushed for answers on what was being done to investigate the allegations raised in a lawsuit filed over the summer by 12 women, and was continually dissatisfied. The women’s lawsuit alleged the school tended to mismanage cases of sexual assault and harassment and fostered a dangerous campus environment.

Meanwhile, Virginia senators on Wednesday called for an investigation into the school’s handling of sexual misconduct complaints, media reports. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine urged the education department to review the university’s procedures for handling sexual assault cases.

Lamb also alleges he suffered retaliation for his involvement in an outside investigation led to the tenure of Jerry Falwell Jr., the former president whose personal controversies and acrimonious departure de Liberty last year made national headlines.

The university denied Lamb’s request and said his dismissal was unrelated to Title IX. Instead, the school claims Lamb falls under the “unclean hands” doctrine, where a plaintiff initially helped set up the circumstances for which he is suing.

Liberty’s response indicates that Lamb was a close adviser to Falwell and played a major role in forming the Falkirk Center, a religious conservative “think tank”. Co-founder Charlie Kirk withdrew his name after Falwell’s exit, and the organization was renamed Standing For Freedom Center.

Due to a confidentiality agreement, the university claims in its response that Lamb violated his contract and his fiduciary duties to the school and defamed the school. Liberty states that after Falwell left, Lamb began cataloging information about the school in an act of “workplace espionage.”