Mississippi State athletic director John Cohen said Tuesday that Mike Leach will participate in “listening sessions” to “expand his cultural awareness of Mississippi” after the school’s football coach shared an offensive Twitter post.
On April 1, Leach tweeted a meme showing an old lady who had knitted her husband a noose after two weeks of quarantine. Leach’s tweet received criticism from a number of players and MSU assistant professor of sociology Margaret A. Hagerman, according to the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger.
The post led to public condemnation and also resulted in sophomore defensive tackle Fabian LoVett transferring from the school. Lovett’s father, Abdual, recently told the Clarion-Ledger that he didn’t feel comfortable with his son playing for “a guy like [Leach], from a leadership standpoint.”
Cohen also said Leach’s tweet was unacceptable.
“No matter the context, for many Americans the image of a noose is never appropriate and that’s particularly true in the South and in Mississippi,” Cohen said in the statement. “Mississippi State University was disappointed in the use of such an image in a tweet by Coach Mike Leach.
“He removed the tweet and issued a public apology,” Cohen added. “The university is confident that Coach Leach is moving quickly and sincerely past this unintended misstep and will provide the leadership for our student athletes and excitement for our football program that our fans deserve and that our students and alumni will be proud to support.”
Cohen also said Leach will take guided visits to the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Miss., when both are reopened. The museums are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When Leach’s tweet first came out, LoVett responded by writing “WTF” and announced his decision a day later to enter the transfer portal. The 59-year-old coach, who has 361,000 followers on Twitter, deleted the tweet and apologized, saying: “I sincerely regret if my choice of images in my tweets were found offensive. I had no intention of offending anyone.”
Leach was hired by Mississippi State in January after serving eight years as the Washington State head coach. He signed a four-year contract reportedly worth $5 million a season.