Last week, Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach posted a black-and-white photo to Twitter, a meme that showed a woman knitting a noose with the caption, “After 2 weeks of quarantine with her husband, Gertrude decided to knit him a scarf..”
“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. “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.
“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 added that a plan is in place for Leach to visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History, both in Jackson, when coronavirus-related restrictions are lifted.
Leach’s players, including defensive lineman Fabien Lovett, took notice of the tweet:
Wtf
— 🦍 (@fabo_54) April 2, 2020
Facts. He tripping. 🤦🏾♂️ @Im3Fly
— Kobe Jones (@IAmKobeJones) April 2, 2020
Leach deleted the tweet and wrote this past Thursday afternoon that he didn’t mean to offend anyone.
I sincerely regret if my choice of images in my tweets were found offensive. I had no intention of offending anyone.
— Mike Leach (@Coach_Leach) April 2, 2020
This is not the first time that Leach’s Twitter feed has garnered attention.
This year, Leach deleted a number of tweets he wrote that were critical of Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the only Republican to vote against President Trump at his impeachment trial. Leach has expressed support for Trump in the past, calling him a “world-class problem solver” and a “friend.”
He told USA Today that he deleted the Romney tweets because he “thought it was drawing more attention than it deserved.”
While still coach at Washington State in 2018, Leach tweeted a doctored video of former president Barack Obama. Leach deleted the tweet, saying “the video was incomplete,” but also wrote, “I believe discussion on how much or how little power that our Gov should have is important.”
A Washington State official told KREM-TV in Spokane that Leach’s Obama tweet caused a number of school donors to alter their plans for future giving, gifts that would have totaled $1.6 million.
After eight seasons at Washington State, Leach left the Pac-12 program in January to take over at Mississippi State.