Texas Superintendent Behind Racist Remark On Facebook Resigns
A Texas superintendent has resigned after he wrote a racist remark on a public Facebook post. He says it was meant to be a private message. Lynn Redden was the superintendent at Onalaska Independent School District near Houston. He commented on a post on the Houston Chronicle's Facebook page that was screenshotted and sent into the newspaper. The article was discussing Texans' quarterback Deshaun Watson performance during a game when Redden commented on the post,
"That may have been the most inept quarterback decision I've seen in the NFL. When you need precision decision making you can't count on a black quarterback."
The comment was quickly deleted but one Houston resident was able to screenshot the comment and send it into the newspaper. Watson took the high road and simply commented on the matter by saying "let peace be with him," but the team's coach and fellow footballers spoke out against the superintendent. Texans coach Bill O'Brien took a stronger stance against Redden, stating that he didn't want to "waste any time responding to ignorant, idiotic statements." Coach O'Brien also complimented Watson saying Deshaun "represents everything that's right about football and life." Texans defensive end J.J. Watt also voiced his support for Watson and how idiotic he found the comment,
"I don't think it deserves any attention from any of us. It's a very ignorant comment that doesn't deserve any more play. It's very unfortunate. I trust him. We all trust him."
On Saturday, Superintendent Lynn Redden turned in his resignation letter to the school board. He apologized personally to Deshaun Watson in the letter and explained how he admired the quarterback for taking the high road regarding his racist comments towards the football player.