The Florida Bar, the organization responsible for regulating lawyers in the state, has placed an employee on administrative leave after racist and homophobic messages were sent to University of Miami football player Damon Wilson II.
The Associated Press identified the employee as Kade McLendon, a computer technician who has worked for the organization for about two years.
An account using McLendon’s name sent Wilson messages after Miami defeated Florida State 43-35 in double overtime on Saturday (October 17).
Wilson, a Black defensive lineman, shared screenshots of the messages to his Instagram Stories on Sunday (October 18), captioning them, “glimpse into the life of a black student athlete.”
The Instagram Stories post is no longer available.
CBS12 reported that the messages included racial slurs, homophobic insults, threats of sexual violence against Wilson and his family, and references to segregation-era racism. In one message, the sender said Wilson should be forced to sit at the back of a bus.
The Florida Bar addressed the incident in a social media post Tuesday (October 20), confirming McLendon’s administrative leave while its investigation continues.
“The messages in question are not only ethically and morally reprehensible but also violate our internal social media policy for employees,” the organization said.
The Florida Bar added that it remains committed to enforcing its policies and procedures while protecting employees’ due process rights.
McLendon did not respond to the AP’s request for comment.
Wilson is in his first season at Miami after previously playing for the University of Georgia and the University of Missouri.
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