Tennessee-Chattanooga Assistant Football Coach Fired for Racist Tweet About Stacey Abrams

An assistant football coach from Tennessee-Chattanooga was fired on Thursday for a racist tweet [...]

An assistant football coach from Tennessee-Chattanooga was fired on Thursday for a racist tweet that was directed at Georgia politician Stacey Abrams. The tweet, which was sent by assistant coach Chris Malone, compared Abrams to a cartoon character and called her "big girl." Malone since has deleted his Twitter account.

"Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @StaceyAbrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!!" Malone tweeted, which was captured by Chattanooga Holler (as ESPN reported). "Enjoy the buffet Big Girl! You earned it!!! Hope the money was good, still not governor!" Head coach Rusty Wright and athletic director Mark Wharton both issued statements on Malone.

"Our football program has a clear set of standards," Wright said in a statement. "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 to set that example, first and foremost. With that said, effectively immediately, that individual is no longer a part of my staff."

"The entire post was appalling," Wharton said in his statement. "The sentiments in that post do not represent the values of our football program, our Athletics department or our University. With that said, effective immediately, that individual is no longer a part of the program."

Abrams was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007-2017. She ran for governor in 2018, becoming the first Black woman to become a majority party nominee. She lost to Brian Kemp, but claims there was voter suppression. It led to her working to get Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff Senate seats in Georgia. Warnock is the first Black Senator in Georgia while Warnock will be the first Jewish Senator in the state.

Malone was Tennessee-Chattanooga's offensive line coach for the last two years. In 2013, Malone was the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Virginia State, a historically Black university. He also spent time at Old Dominion, James Madison and Massachusetts.

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