An employee at the Florida Bar was placed on administrative leave on Tuesday amid an investigation into racist, abusive and homophobic messages sent to Miami defensive lineman Damon Wilson II after the Hurricanes’ win over Florida State on Saturday.
Kade McLendon, a computer technician at the Florida Bar, was placed on leave on Tuesday. McLendon, who has worked at the Florida Bar for about two and a half years, allegedly sent several messages to Wilson after Miami’s wild double overtime 43-35 win over Florida State on Saturday.
Wilson, who is Black, shared a screenshot of the messages on his Instagram story on Sunday. The messages were sent from McLendon’s account, and included several racist and homophobic slurs.
Among other things, the messages told Wilson that he was “going to rape, beat and kill ur family.”
“The messages in question are not only ethically and morally reprehensible, but also violate our internal social media policy for employees,” the Florida Bar said in a statement. “As the internal investigation continues, we are committed to enforcing our policies and procedures while making sure that any due process rights are protected.”
Wilson is in his first season at Miami this fall. He transferred in after previous stints at Georgia and Missouri. He has 3.5 sacks and four total tackles so far this season.
Miami just barely held on to beat the Seminoles in double overtime on Saturday night in South Florida. That pushed the Hurricanes to 6-0, and moved them to No. 1 in the national rankings. They’ll take on Pittsburgh next on Saturday.