The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga fired an assistant coach after he posted a tweet disparaging former Georgia government candidate and activist Stacey Abrams, the school announced in a 45-second video.
Chris Malone, who was an offensive lineman for the Mocs, defamed Abrams while selling allegations of electoral fraud in an erased tweet on Tuesday night.
“Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you really showed the United States the real cheating works in an election !!! Enjoy the buffet Little Girl !! You deserved it !!! ! “he said, according to images from the tweet.
The university’s dean, Steven Angle, condemned his tweet, calling it “hateful, painful and fake” in a video two days later.
“Coach Malone is no longer part of this university,” said Angle on Thursday. “The university faculty and staff are expected to lead in order to achieve and maintain a respectful and tolerant civilian environment on campus.”
“The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga does not tolerate and unequivocally condemn discrimination and hatred in all ways,” added Angle.
The team’s head coach, Rusty Wright, also hit Malone’s tweet Thursday in a statement.
“What was posted on social media by a member of my team 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 among young people, we have to set an example, first of all. With that said, from now on, individually, you are no longer part of my team.”
According to the school’s excluded biography page, Malone was in his second year as a technical assistant to the team. Malone, who has trained at different schools since 1998, had a stint at Virginia State University, a historically black university.
Many attributed Abrams to the recent success of Democrats at the polls in Georgia, where she and grassroots organizations helped to reinvigorate electoral participation this led to projected victories for Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in their runoff runs for the Senate and gave his party a majority in the Senate. She is also credited as instrumental in the victory of President-elect Joe Biden in a traditionally red state.