‘MIGHT BE UNKIND’

College Football Coach Fired Over Racist Stacey Abrams Tweet Sues School

Chris Malone, whose tweet was deemed “appalling” and “hateful” by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, claims his First Amendment rights were violated.

Chris Malone, a former assistant football coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has filed a lawsuit accusing the school of violating his First Amendment rights, The Virginian-Pilot reports. Malone was fired in January after he posted tweets criticizing the 2020 election and Georgia politician Stacey Abrams, calling her “Fat Albert.” “Enjoy the buffet Big Girl! You earned it!!!” the tweet reads. After the tweet was posted, the school quickly issued a statement calling Malone’s comments “appalling” and “hateful,” and said he was no longer employed by the university. Malone’s lawyer argued in a statement that “as a public school, it cannot control what employees say at social gatherings or on social media. It certainly cannot fire them for criticizing and mocking politicians.” “Fat jokes might be unkind, but they aren’t uncommon. Just ask Chris Christie and Donald Trump,” he said.