A Florida Bar employee was terminated from his job Oct. 21 days after he was accused of sending racist and threatening messages to a University of Miami football player.
The messages were sent after Miami beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime on Oct. 17. They were sent through direct message on Instagram from an account belonging to Kade McLendon to player Damon Wilson II.
Wilson shared a screenshot of some of the messages on his Instagram account with the caption, “Glimpse into the life of a black student athlete.” The Florida Bar, the organizationof all lawyers licensed by the Supreme Court of Florida to practice law in the state, put McLendon on administrative leave while an internal investigation was conducted.
Findings from investigation regarding Florida Bar employee’s alleged racist message to Miami football player
According to a statement
from the Florida Bar, McClendon denied sending the inappropriate messages.
“Those messages were reprehensible and inconsistent with the mission, values, and policies of The Florida Bar,” the statement read. “While McClendon 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. As of today, The Florida Bar has terminated McClendon’s employment.”
Kade McLendon, a Florida State graduate, had been a computer technician at the Florida Bar since June 2024, according to his now-deleted LinkedIn account.
What did the racist messages sent to Miami football player Damon Wilson say?
It’s believed McLendon sent 12 messages to Wilson, which he then shared. Several messages said McLendon hopes Wilson gets “raped” and that he is going to “beat” and “kill” Wilson’s family, while other messages express racist views.
“Stupid ni**er,” read one message.
“You’re the type of people that should be forced to the back of the bus,” read another message.
“literally hope you are raped so brutally it hurts,” read a message.
Who is University of Miami football player Damon Wilson II?
Wilson transferred this year to Miami from Missouri where the defensive lineman earned second team All-Southeastern honors. His college career started at Georgia.
USA TODAY Network-Florida left messages for Wilson.
Michelle Spitzer is a journalist for The USA TODAY NETWORK-FLORIDA. As the network’s Rapid Response reporter, she covers Florida’s breaking news. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida Bar employee fired over racist messages sent to UM athlete
