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An assistant coach in North Carolina has resigned from his position at a local school after a video clip of him celebrating a victory by calling his players the n-word was posted on Instagram.
According to Raleigh station WTVD, John Hoskins was celebrating his Knightdale High School team’s victory over Corinth Holders High at a local bar, when his jubilation somehow gave way to racism.
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“White power, Knightdale!” the excited coach screamed out before adding, “I still love you n*ggers!”
The moment was caught on someone’s Instagram Live post, and although it was later deleted the damage had already been done.
“Just to set the record, I’m not racist,” Hoskins, 32, said. “I don’t mean it in a negative way.”
He even goes as far as to make claims that he was granted permission to use the word by his Black friends, explaining, “I guess I’ve been around them for so long. We’re friends. I mean nothing from it…They treat me as any of their own friends.”
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“They walk up to me and say: ‘Hey coach, just say it,” he continued. “‘You’re a good coach. Just say it’…Once a year, it slips. To have them smile and laugh. Besides that, I mean nothing from it.”
In response to what — at best — was a lapse in judgment, Knightdale High School Principal Keith Richardson said he was “greatly dismayed and disappointed to see this type of behavior and mindset from someone in a position of trust.”
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Richardson also made note that the coach was not a full-time staff member at the school.
“The language, the context is not okay,” said School Superintendent Cathy Moore. “And this man is an adult. And he should know better.”
Due to the backlash, Hoskins resigned from his assistant football coach position with a note that told the team he loved them and was stepping down so as not to become a “distraction.”