UT-Chattanooga Assistant Coach Fired After Racist Tweet

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive line coach Chris Malone was fired on Thursday after he sent out a racist tweet earlier this week attacking Stacey Abrams, who ran as the 2018 Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia.

Mark Wharton, the school's director of athletics, said in a statement that Malone's social media post was "appalling" and "totally inappropriate."

Malone deleted the tweet criticizing Abrams's role in the recent U.S. Senate runoff election in Georgia, which saw Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock defeat the Republican incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. 

"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, as captured by Chattanooga Holler. "Enjoy the buffet Big Girl! You earned it!!! Hope the money was good, still not governor!"

In 2018, Abrams was the first Black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major U.S. party. She has spent much of the past decade building a Democratic infrastructure in Georgia and is a voting rights activist.

Malone has since deleted his Twitter account.

"Our football program has a clear set of standards," head 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." 

Malone has spent the past two seasons with UTC, having previously coached at Old Dominion, James Madison and UMass.