A former professional wrestler-turned-city assistant principal “plagiarized” a teacher’s master’s degree project while trying to clothesline her career, according to a Manhattan federal lawsuit.
Carmel Macklin, who had a stint as a dancer and grappler as a “Nitro Girl” with World Championship Wrestling, targeted teacher Brendamarie Alexander, 54, because of her age, her case alleges.
In addition to her ring career, Macklin has appeared as an actress in several films — including 2010’s “Bronx Paradise” and 2003’s “Love and Orgasms.”
Alexander, who began with the DOE in 2001, said she wrote a student and teacher guidebook for her school, the Eagle Academy for Young Men in Queens, as part of her master’s project — and later presented it to Macklin.
But instead of crediting Alexander, Macklin “redistributed the handbook and presented it as their own, making no changes except to rearrange some sections,” according to the suit.
Alexander said Macklin blew her off when she complained. “Plaintiff contacted Macklin to discuss the situation,” the suit states. “Defendant Macklin did not respond at all.”
Alexander said she was targeted for termination by school administrators to make way for younger teachers. “They did everything they could to make her life miserable,” said her attorney, Joshua Parkhurst.
The suit states that Macklin and principal Cedric Hall “oversubscribed” her classes on purpose — filling some of them with as many as 40 students to make them unmanageable.
In September 2017, Alexander said she and several other teachers intervened in a student fight. But Alexander said she was brought up on corporal punishment charges in an attempt to force her out — the only teacher to face discipline over the incident.
“Rather than commend plaintiff for de-escalating a violent and dangerous situation, defendants attempted to fire plaintiff by claiming her restraint of the violent student amounted to corporal punishment,” the suit states.
The charges were dismissed by hearing officer Lisa Charles after a July 2018 hearing, according to the suit.
Alexander was placed in a rubber room pending that hearing and said Hall and Macklin blocked her attempts to get reassigned to a new school even after the rap was dropped, her suit alleges.
She finally landed a new gig at John Adams High School in Queens in September 2018 — but said the harassment followed her there, the suit states.
Administrators gave her minimal duties, asked teachers to record her and engaged in questionable behavior to force her out, according to court papers.
Parkhurst said Alexander was hit with a range of new charges after she filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and her federal suit.
These included “stealing” a parking pass, along with another corporal punishment rap and a discrimination allegation.
Parkhurst said the new cases were “baseless” and “retaliatory” attempts to finally get rid of his client after she filed her legal complaints.
These included “stealing” a parking pass, along with another corporal punishment rap and a discrimination allegation. Parkhurst said the new cases were “baseless” and “retaliatory” attempts to finally get rid of his client after she filed her legal complaints.
A teacher at the all boys school said Macklin is a popular administrator with a “good reputation.”
The teacher also praised Alexander and regretted her exit from the school.
“She was involved with the students, going on trips with them,” they said. “They [students] all loved her, she was a great art teacher.”
Alexander, who had taken a leave of absence from the DOE, is suing Macklin, Hall and the department for civil rights violations. City lawyers have denied her claims and filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
The DOE said it would review the suit.
So he was never a real member of G.I. Joe?
