College football coach fired for racist tweet targeting Stacey Abrams

The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga offensive line coach was sacked Thursday after he tweeted a statement that mocked Georgian politician Stacey Abrams.

Assistant coach Chris Malone was fired after he tweeted, and then deleted, a statement Tuesday night in the Georgia Senate second round, and the involvement of Abrams, who was running for governor in 2018 and later a possible running mate by Joe Biden.

Here is Tuesday’s tweet.

“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 !!!” The status of Malone’s tweet, according to Twitter user Chattanooga Holler. “Enjoy the Big Girl buffet! You deserved it !!! I hope the money was good, still not governor!”

Tennessee-Chattanooga head coach Rusty Wright and athletics director Mark Wharton have each issued statements regarding their actions to let go of Malone.

“Our football program has a clear set of standards,” Wright said. “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. “

Malone, who has since deleted his Twitter account, once coached at Virginia State, a historically black university. He has spent the last two seasons at Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Abrams was a member of the Georgia State Assembly from 2007 to 2017 prior to his candidacy for governor. After his loss to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams became even more politically active on the regional and national stage. His latest involvement included supporting Georgian Senate Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who were both re-elected to help turn the US Senate from red to blue, giving Democrats now control of the House, Senate and of the White House.

After Malone’s Tweet, Mocs AD Mark Wharton said it was “appalling”.

“The sentiments expressed in this post do not represent the values ​​of our football program, our athletics department or our university,” Wharton said.

Chattanooga is located in Southeast Tennessee, right on the border with Northwestern Georgia.

Other stops in Malone’s journey as a coach include Old Dominion, James Madison, Massachusetts, and other schools.