LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a Kansas sheriff's deputy was demoted because he couldn't succeed at the police academy and not because of alleged discrimination based on his sexual orientation.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree last month dismissed a lawsuit filed by Kyle Appleby, who alleged Douglas County Sheriff's Office employees discriminated against him, attacked his masculinity and called him a homophobic slur.

Appleby sued the Douglas County Commission last year alleging that sheriff's employees participated in "sex stereotyping." He said he has been openly gay at work...