The University of Tennessee, in Chattanooga, fired an assistant coach after posting a tweet disparaging former Georgia Gov. candidate and activist Stacey Abrams, the school announced in a 45-second video.
Chris Malone, who was an offensive line coach for the Mocs, soiled Abrams as he sold election fraud claims in a tweet already deleted Tuesday night.
“Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams for really proving in America the real cheating work in the election, enjoy the Big Girl buffet again !! You won it !!! no governor!” according to the screenshots of the tweet.
University Chancellor Steven Angle condemned his tweet and called it “hateful, hurt and fake” in a video two days later.
“Coach Malone is no longer part of that 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 condemn discrimination and hatred in all forms,” Angle added.
The team’s head coach, Rusty Wright, too crashed into Malone’s tweet Thursday in a statement.
“What a member of my staff posted on social media is unacceptable and is not 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 this example, first and foremost. That said, effective immediately, that individually is no longer part of my staff.”
According to the school’s deleted biography page, Malone was in his second year as the team’s assistant coach. Malone, who has been a coach at various schools since 1998, went to Virginia State University, a historically black university.
Many credited Abrams for the Democrats’ recent success at the polls in Georgia, where she and grassroots organizations helped boost voter turnout this resulted in the projected victories for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in their second round races in the Senate and gave their party a majority in the Senate. She is also accredited as instrumental in the victory of President-elect Joe Biden in a traditionally red state.