The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga fired an assistant coach after he posted a tweet disparaging former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and activist Stacey Abrams, the school announced in a 45-second video.
Chris Malone, who was an offensive line coach for the Mocs, smeared Abrams while peddling election fraud claims in a now-deleted tweet Tuesday night.
“Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!! Enjoy the buffet Big Girl!! You earned it!!! Hope the money is good, still not governor!” he said, according to screenshots of the tweet.
University chancellor Steven Angle condemned his tweet, calling it “hateful, hurtful and untrue” in a video two days later.
“Coach Malone is no longer a part of this university,” Angle said Thursday. “University faculty and staff are expected to lead in a way that achieves and maintains a respectful and tolerant civil campus environment.”
“The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga does not tolerate and unequivocally condemns discrimination and hatred of all forms,” Angle added.
The team’s head coach, Rusty Wright, also slammed Malone’s tweet Thursday in a statement.
“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,” he said. “Life is bigger than football and as leaders of young men, we have to set that example, first and foremost. With that said, effective immediately, that individually is no longer a part of my staff.”
According to the school’s deleted biography page, Malone was in his second year as an assistant coach on the team. Malone, who has coached at different schools since 1998, had a stint at Virginia State University, an historically Black university.
Many credited Abrams for the Democrats’ recent success at the polls in Georgia, where she and grassroots organizations helped invigorate voter turnout that led to projected victories for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in their Senate runoff races and gave her party to the majority in the Senate. She is also credited as instrumental in President-elect Joe Biden’s win in a traditionally red state.
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