Derogatory tweet at Stacey Abrams gets college football coach fired in Tennessee
An assistant football coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga was fired Thursday after posting a racist tweet directed at Stacey Abrams.
“Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!” Chris Malone tweeted late Tuesday, according to screenshots shared online. “Enjoy the buffet Big Girl! You earned it!!! Hope the money was good, still not governor!”
The tweet came as Democrats Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff led in the Georgia Senate runoff elections. Both candidates were later declared the winners in Georgia, helping flip the United States Senate back to the Democrats.
Abrams, formerly the House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly, has been credited as being instrumental in helping Warnock, Ossoff and President-elect Joe Biden to victories in Georgia.
Malone was fired less than two days after his tweet, which has since been deleted. Chattanooga head coach Rusty Wright and Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Mark Wharton announced Thursday that Malone is no longer a part of the program.
“Our football program has a clear set of standards,” Wright stated. “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 set that example.”
“Last night, a totally inappropriate social media post by a member of our football staff was brought to my attention,” Wharton said. “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.”
In a video message, Chattanooga Chancellor Steve Angle called Malone’s tweet “hateful, hurtful and untrue.”
“University faculty and staff are expected to lead in a way that achieves and maintains a respectful and tolerant civil campus environment,” he said. “University of Tennessee-Chattanooga does not tolerate and unequivocally condemns discrimination and hatred in all forms.”
Malone, who was the team’s offensive line coach, has not responded to his firing. Before coming to Chattanooga, he coached at Old Dominion, James Madison and UMass. In 2013, he coached at Virginia State, a historically Black university, according to ESPN.