A University of Tennessee at Chattanooga assistant football coach has been fired after tweeting a racist missive toward Stacey Abrams.
The offensive line coach, Chris Malone took to Twitter on Tuesday, writing, “Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!!” he said in the since-deleted tweet. “Enjoy the buffet Big Girl! You earned it!!! Hope the money was good, still not governor!”
Head coach Rusty Wright and athletic director Mark Wharton have both since addressed the incident and denounced Malone.
“Our football program has a clear set of standards,” Wright said in a statement posted to social media. “Those standards include respecting others. It is a message our players hear daily. It is a standard I will not waiver on. What was posted on social media by a member of my staff is unacceptable and not any part of what I stand for or what Chattanooga Football stands for. Life is bigger than football and as leaders of young men we have to set that example, first and foremost. With that said, effectively immediately, that individual is no longer a part of my staff.”
“Last night, a totally inappropriate social media post by a member of our football staff was brought to my attention,” Wharton said in a statement, per Knox News. “The entire post was appalling. The sentiments in that post do not represent the values of our football program, our athletics department or our university. With that said, effectively immediately, that individual is no longer a part of the program.”
Malone has since deleted his Twitter account. He posted his attack on Abrams after Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock came out on top in the U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia on Tuesday. Abrams has been credited with helping the two men win, as she fought hard against voter suppression and endorsed Ossoff and Warnock.
Abrams was a Georgia state assembly member from 2007 to 2017, where she served as minority leader from 2011 to 2017. She ran for governor in 2018, becoming the first Black woman who was a major party nominee for governor. She ultimately lost to Brian Kemp in the election, amid allegations of voter suppression.
Malone was Tennessee-Chattanooga’s offensive line coach for two years. He previously coached at Old Dominion and Virginia State, a historically Black university.
