# Assistant football coach fired over tweet sues to get his job back **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 29, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070 "2021-04-29T21:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/1 "2021-04-29T21:40:45Z")
That’s the headline of the AP article: > **[Chattanooga assistant fired over tweet sues to get job back](https://apnews.com/article/football-georgia-bulldogs-football-chattanooga-voting-rights-college-football-cad743ac0a2968389f5786b678a23269)** > > A Chattanooga football assistant coach fired over a social media post disparaging the state of Georgia and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams is suing to get his job back along with backpay and damages. TL;DR: University of Tennessee-Chattanooga assistant football coach Chris Malone has sued, saying his 1st Amendment rights were violated. Malone tweeted: > [@Chris Malone](#): > > 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! 30 minutes later he deleted the tweet. > [@](#): > > Malone deleted the tweet about 30 minutes later after three former players responded negatively, according to the lawsuit. The assistant coach’s Twitter account was deleted the night of Jan. 6. > > The lawsuit alleges Malone heard nothing about the post from Wright until the coach called him late on the afternoon of Jan. 6. Malone says Wright told him later the matter had gone “over his head” before calling him on the morning of Jan. 7 to email his resignation. > > Chattanooga announced later that day that Malone had been fired. Wharton said in a statement the post was brought to his attention the night before. Wharton did not refer to Malone by name but called the social media post “totally inappropriate” and “appalling.” Wright said the post violated the program’s standards. Tennessee is a right-to-work state, meaning employers can fire people at-will, but clearly this involves a government employer. I thought this would make an interesting parallel thread/discussion to the student free speech thread/discussion ([High School Student “Free Speech” Case Before SCOTUS](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-student-free-speech-case-before-scotus/940931)). A lot of the same factors and arguments come into play, I think, but the perspectives are different. Should he get his job back? Was his termination wrongful? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/2 "2021-04-29T21:47:07Z")
IMHO, this is a closer case. The coach’s criticism does not go to the heart of the football program. However, the way he conducted himself in his comments (calling Abrams fat in a couple of different ways) can cause embarrassment to the team. And, as I stated in the other thread, if he wants to get drunk and tell his buddies that Stacey Abrams is a fat pig, then that should be largely left alone due to alcohol and venting. If he purposely says it where virtually anyone will now be able to see it, he is making it a public event. I might make a different decision, but I support the power of the school to fire him. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/3 "2021-04-29T21:58:31Z")
Georgia is an at-will state, as stated, there need to be no reason for firing an individual. Are school teams at-will also? Can you cut a member of the school play, debate team, marching band for no reason as well? ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/4 "2021-04-29T22:07:43Z")
Whether the state has at-will employment is not particularly relevant to whether this guy has a case. You can fire someone for _no reason_, but you can’t fire them for _a protected_ reason. Just like you can’t fire someone for being black or a woman, the government can’t fire someone for protected speech. And if you are an employee of the government, there’s a whole mess of 1st Amendment precedent that goes into determining what counts as protected speech, which I am not an expert on, but my understanding is that it largely boils down to whether the speech was related to your job responsibilities. In this case, it seems like it’s not (I don’t think that tweeting about GA elections are part of a TN football coach’s job description), and this guy has a legitimate case. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/5 "2021-04-29T23:24:59Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > In this case, it seems like it’s not (I don’t think that tweeting about GA elections are part of a TN football coach’s job description), and this guy has a legitimate case. Is there any limit? What if he called Abrams the n-word? Protected? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/6 "2021-04-29T23:58:35Z")
I think the school is justified because being an assistant football coach is a high profile public position who represents the University. They are justified in holding such employees to a high standard of decorum whenever they are in public, whether in a job-related context or not. If he had been, like 99% of University employees, someone who nobody in the general public would have ever heard of, he would have a better case. If his speech had been merely politically controversial without being rude and creepy, he would have a better case. Given this particular constellation of circumstances, I don’t see this as being a tough call. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/7 "2021-04-30T00:10:35Z")
There’s definitely a limit, legally, because it’s a multi-part test and most of the Supreme Court decisions have been murky 5-4 decisions with several different dissents, but I couldn’t say exactly where it is. At least part of the test is how much the statement interferes with the employee’s execution of their job and their employers mission. By that standard I would argue that the n-word is over the line. I should clarify that when I say “this guy has a legitimate case” I don’t mean I’m certain he’ll win or even that I think he’s likely to win, but it’s not a totally crazy legal theory. I’m not sure that we should let the government fire you for being an asshole on twitter for 30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/8 "2021-04-30T00:14:41Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > At least part of the test is how much the statement interferes with the employee’s execution of their job and their employers mission. By that standard I would argue that the n-word is over the line. I’m sure he has players that show up for summer camp that are fat and out of shape. The school could argue that his dismissive and insulting comments about fat people would interfere with its mission. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/9 "2021-04-30T00:22:47Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Georgia is an at-will state, I suspect you meant to type “Tennessee” since that’s where the coach worked, but I looked it up just in case, and confirmed that Tennessee is an at-will state. ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/10 "2021-04-30T13:20:59Z")
I think the problem is that there are a lot of government employees in roles that don’t really feel “government.” I mean, if we like the idea of first amendment protections for government employees who participate in political speech outside of work, then it seems like this guy should be protected. But somehow “assistant football coach” doesn’t feel like a “real” government employee to me. (Of course, there are people who don’t believe that any employer should be able to fire an employee for off-duty political speech. And a few jurisdictions that have such laws. But that’s not a constitutional issue). ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/11 "2021-04-30T14:31:44Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > I’m sure he has players that show up for summer camp that are fat and out of shape. The school could argue that his dismissive and insulting comments about fat people would interfere with its mission. I’m sure they will argue that. I’m not convinced it is (or should be) sufficient. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/12 "2021-04-30T14:33:42Z")
The thing about both of these cases is that good old fashioned shame would have had the same result as official dismissal without the messy constitutional issues. Both would have been _persona non grata_ in their present positions and and would likely have left of their own accord. Government entities trying to regulate the speech of students and employees outside of their ordinary duties isn’t just unconstitutional; it’s just plain dumb. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/13 "2021-04-30T14:35:11Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I’m sure they will argue that. I’m not convinced it is (or should be) sufficient. Me neither. But this gets into the question of whether these decisions should be left to the administration or whether the Supreme Court should act as a national HR department making a complex set of rules that everyone must follow. I prefer the former. You have a right to free speech. You don’t have a right to be an assistant football coach. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/14 "2021-04-30T14:56:11Z")
I’m not sure what outcome I’d prefer. This case is a tricky one, but if you look at the past cases that established these kinds of rights, they seem like the kind of thing that should be protected. They’re things like a teacher arguing that the public school administration is doing a bad job with the budget and getting fired, or a district attorney suggesting that someone promoted above him is not as effective at his job and getting fired. That kind of speech really is legitimately in the public interest to happen and people (teachers, prosecutors) employed by the government should be able to say it without being fired. This tweet is basically 1. A conspiracy theory about election fraud 2. Invective #1 is obviously bullshit, but election fraud is definitely the sort of thing that’s in the public interest if it were actually happening. And the 1st Amendment doesn’t get to be about _correctness_ or you have the government deciding what’s true and punishing people who don’t toe the line. #2 makes us all dislike this guy, but the 1st Amendment also doesn’t get to distinguish on decorum. “Fuck the draft” is legitimate political speech (Cohen v. California) as is burning a flag. Offensive speech is not a category of unprotected speech. I think the answer I’d really like is that the government shouldn’t employ football coaches at all, which sort of gets to @Falchion’s point. > [@UltraVires](#): > > You don’t have a right to be an assistant football coach. I don’t agree with this framing. You have a right to not be fired from a job for something protected by law. I assume that if the football coach were fired for being black, you wouldn’t make this argument. You just don’t like that “being an asshole on twitter” counts as protected by law when your employer is the government. I admit that it’s kind of distasteful, but I think it’s better than the alternative, which is where I come out on most 1st Amendment issues. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/15 "2021-04-30T15:02:55Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I admit that it’s kind of distasteful, but I think it’s better than the alternative, which is where I come out on most 1st Amendment issues. Me too. This guy seems like a Grade-A asshole, and my first impulse would be to fire him. However, the government shouldn’t be able to fire people for offensive comments. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/16 "2021-04-30T15:17:16Z")
A huge part of college coaching is recruiting the best high school prospects. Having an assistant coach outed as a giant racist asshole is likely to be significantly detrimental to recruiting among black athletes. I think there’s a pretty decent argument to be made that the tweet harms the mission of the team in that respect, and that is the grounds for firing rather than just the offensiveness of the contents of the tweet. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/17 "2021-04-30T15:32:55Z")
[Chattanooga workers are unionized.](https://www.ucw-cwa.org/) Why aren’t they acting on his behalf? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/18 "2021-04-30T15:35:52Z")
Why do you think they should be? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/19 "2021-04-30T15:45:01Z")
If there is no reason for the union to take action at this time, you could just say so rather than answering a question with a question. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070/20 "2021-04-30T15:47:55Z")
I don’t know of any reason for that union to take action at any time regarding this case and am curious why you think they would need to. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/assistant-football-coach-fired-over-tweet-sues-to-get-his-job-back/941070.md?page=2)