Florida Bar fires employee after investigation into abusive messages to football player
Damon Wilson II of the Miami Hurricanes rushes the line during the second half of the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Sept. 18 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
The Florida Bar has dismissed a computer technician after a short investigation into abusive Instagram messages sent to a defensive lineman for the University of Miami.
According to a story by the Associated Press, the Florida Bar, which regulates attorneys in the state, said it terminated Kade McLendon on Wednesday. McLendon had been with the Florida Bar for roughly two years.
The AP reported that Damon Wilson II received messages over Instagram that contained multiple racist and homophobic slurs after the Miami Hurricanes’ 43-35 victory over the Florida State Seminoles, its in-state rival team. According to the AP, the messages came from an account from a person using McLendon’s name.
In a statement Wednesday, the Florida Bar told the AP that it condemned the messages as reprehensible and is at odds with its mission, values and policies. McLendon denied sending them, the Florida Bar said, but he did not offer proof strong enough to convince it that his account had been compromised.
The AP said it tried to reach McLendon on Tuesday without success.
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