A MAGA-loving assistant football coach for Chattanooga took to Twitter on January 5th and rambled on about “the steal” and decided to insult Stacey Abrams. After players complained, he was fired by the university. Three months later, he’s suing to get his job back.
Chris Malone, a former assistant offensive lineman coach, said he forced to resign on January 7th. So now he’s suing Chancellor Steven Angle, athletic director Mark Wharton and coach Rusty Wright individually and in their roles at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
“In most states, employers are allowed to be controlling and vindictive when it comes to social media,” said Malone’s attorney, Doug Churdar. “It’s different for government or public employers. They cannot ignore the First Amendment.”
On January 5th, Malone tweeted “Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!! Enjoy the buffet Big Girl!! You earned it!!! Hope the money is good, still not governor!”
He later deleted the tweet but not before it was caught in screengrabs. According to the lawsuit, three former players saw it and expressed their disgust. His account was deleted the next night, which was the day the capital was stormed by MAGA loving supporters.
The suit alleges that Malone heard nothing of the tweet until January 7th, when coach Wright called him to say the incident had gone “over his head” and to email his resignation. Later that day, the university announced his firing.
In a statement, Wharton, without calling out Malone’s name, called the Tweet “totally inappropriate” and “appalling.” Wright added that the post violated the program’s standards.
According to the AP, Tennessee is a right to hire state, which means anyone can be fired at any moment for any reason.
Many claim that politics should be left out of sports. Yet when they decide to mix the two and suffer the consequences, they complain. But this isn’t surprising coming from a state where GOP state senators target college basketball players for kneeling.
We’ll keep you updated as the case, currently in the Eastern District of U.S. District Court, proceeds.
