The Florida Bar has fired an employee after a brief investigation into racist and homophobic messages sent to a University of Miami football player. The Bar announced the decision Wednesday, a day after it said the employee was under investigation.
The messages and the firing
The man is Kade McLendon, who had worked at the Bar for about two years as a computer technician. An Instagram account in his name sent a series of messages to Miami’s Damon Wilson II after the Hurricanes beat rival Florida State 43-35 in two overtimes. Several contained racist and homophobic slurs. Wilson says some were threatening as well.
McLendon has denied sending them and argued his account was hacked. The Bar was not persuaded. “While McLendon denies sending the messages, he did not provide evidence sufficient to demonstrate to The Florida Bar’s satisfaction that his Instagram account had been compromised,” its statement said. It called the messages “reprehensible and inconsistent with the mission, values, and policies of The Florida Bar” and said it had terminated his employment.
Earlier, the Bar had said the messages were also an ethical and moral failing that broke its internal social media policy for employees. It said it would protect due process rights while the inquiry went on. A screenshot of a LinkedIn profile reportedly belonging to McLendon showed he graduated from the Tallahassee university. The Associated Press tried to reach him Tuesday without success.
Wilson goes public
Wilson, who is Black, posted a screenshot of the messages on Instagram on Sunday. He called it a “glimpse into the life of a black student athlete.” It is unclear why the messages were sent to him. He is in his first season at Miami after playing at Georgia and Missouri.
His teammates rallied quickly. “He’s my brother, so anything he needs, we will be there for him,” tight end Elijah Lofton said. Offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez, asked about the episode Tuesday, said: “That’s my brother and I embrace him. It’s more than a game.”
The No. 1 team in the AP Top 25, Miami plays next on Saturday at home against Pittsburgh.
Sources
- Florida Bar fires employee over racist messages to University of Miami football player
- The Florida Bar fires IT employee who sent racist messages to Miami football player
- Florida Bar places employee on leave over 'morally reprehensible' comments to Miami football player
Photo: The Bushranger (CC BY-SA 4.0)
