A Chattanooga football assistant coach no longer has his job after he disparaged Stacey Abrams on social media.
The school announced Thursday morning that Chris Malone had been fired after a Tuesday night tweet calling Abrams “Fat Albert” along with other insults because of the results of Georgia’s Senate elections. There is absolutely no evidence that any significant voter fraud took place in Georgia in either November or January. Abrams, a former Georgia state legislator and gubernatorial candidate, has led voter registration efforts in the state over the past two years.
Here’s the deleted post. Malone was the team’s offensive line coach.
“Our football program has a clear set of standards,” Chattanooga coach Rusty 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 immediaely, that individual is no longer a part of my staff.”
Chattanooga athletic director Mark Wharton also condemned Malone’s post. Malone has already been removed from the football website.
“[Wednesday] night, a totally inappropriate social media post by a member of our football staff was brought to my attention,” Wharton said. “The entire post was appalling. The sentiments in that post do not represent the values of our football program, our athletics department or our university.”
Malone was in his second stint as a Chattanooga assistant. He came to the school from Old Dominion after spending three years with the Monarchs. He’s also coached at numerous other schools including UMass.