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Tennessee-Chattanooga on Thursday sacked assistant coach Chris Malone after a racist tweet mocking Georgian politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams.
Head coach Rusty Wright and athletic director Mark Wharton both issued statements warning Malone, who deleted the tweet. Malone, the coach of the Tennessee-Chattanooga offensive line, tweeted Tuesday night about the Georgia Senate run-off and Abrams’ role in increasing the turnout.
“Kudos to the State GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you’ve really shown America the real job of cheating in an election, once again !!!” reads Malone’s tweet, captured by Chattanooga Holler. “Enjoy the Big Girl buffet! You deserved it !!! I hope the money was good, still not governor!”
Malone has since deleted his Twitter account.
“Our football program has a clear set of standards,” Wright said in a statement posted on social media. “These standards include respect for others. This is a message our players hear daily. It is a standard I will not give up. What was posted on social media by a member of my staff is unacceptable and is not part of what I stand for or what Chattanooga Football stands for. Life is bigger than football and as leaders of young men we need to lead by example above all else. That said, indeed immediately, this person no longer on my staff. “
Abrams, a member of the Georgia state assembly from 2007 to 2017 who became minority leader, ran for governor in 2018, becoming the first black woman to become a major party candidate for governor . She lost a close race to Brian Kemp in an election that sparked voter suppression allegations.
Abrams endorsed Democratic Senate candidates Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, both of whom won their second rounds on Tuesday.
Malone had spent the past two years coaching the Tennessee-Chattanooga offensive line. He previously coached at Old Dominion and made stops at James Madison, Mass. And other programs.
Malone spent the 2013 season as an offensive line coach and running game coordinator at Virginia State, a historically black college.
Wharton called Malone’s tweet “appalling.”
“The sentiments expressed in this post do not represent the values of our football program, our athletics department or our university,” Wharton said in a statement.
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