The offensive coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga was fired Thursday after tweeting a statement mocking Georgian politician Stacey Abrams.
Assistant coach Chris Malone was let go after he tweeted and later removed a statement Tuesday night during the Senate general election in Georgia, and the involvement of Abrams, who was a gubernatorial candidate in 2018 and later a possible manager by Joe Biden.
Here’s the tweet from Tuesday.
“Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams, because you really showed America the true works of fraud in an election again !!!” According to Twitter user Chattanooga Holler, Malone said about the tweet. “Enjoy the buffet Big Girl! You deserved it! Hope the money was good, still not governor!”
Rusty Wright, head coach of Tennessee-Chattanooga, and athletics director Mark Wharton each issued statements about their actions to drop Malone.
“Our football program has a clear set of standards,” Wright said. “These standards include respect for others. This is a message that our players hear on a daily basis. It is a standard I will not give up. What has been posted on social media by a member of my staff is unacceptable. and no part of what I stand for what Chattanooga Football stands for.Life is bigger than football and as leaders of young men we must first set that example.With that said, that individual is immediately no longer a part of my staff. ‘
Malone, who has since deleted his Twitter account, was once coached at Virginia State, a historic black university. He has spent the past two seasons in Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Abrams was a member of the state legislature in Georgia from 2007-2017 before his election as governor. After her loss to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams became even more politically active on a regional and national stage. Her most recent involvement includes support for Georgia Senate Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who both won the re-election to help turn the U.S. Senate from red to blue, which Democrats now control over the House, the Senate and the White House.
Photo by Handout / DNCC via Getty Images
After Malone’s tweet, Mocs AD Mark Wharton said it was ‘horrible’.
“The sentiments in that position do not represent the values of our football program, our athletics department or our university,” Wharton said.
Chattanooga is in southeastern Tennessee, right on the border with northern Georgia.
Other stops in Malone’s journey as a coach include Old Dominion, James Madison, Massachusetts and other schools.