The University of Redlands has reinstated a football coach who was put on leave last month after a social media post about the George Floyd protests which the institution’s athletic director Jeff Martinez said “has been causing distress in our community,” reported Redlands Daily Facts.
Mike MaynardMike Maynard, the university’s head football coach, was brought back to his position after a review which determined his social media post was of an “accidental nature,” said University of Redlands president Ralph Kuncl.
Maynard’s post was a response to a video from a friend that showed an explosive device detonating inside a car during local protests in early June. “What kind of bomb? I want one of those,” was Maynard’s response to the video.
Maynard apologized before his reinstatement, saying it was “an unintentional reply I made (in error) to a friend who messaged to tell me to be careful, stay inside and defend my property,” an earlier report said.
The university’s review appears to concur with Maynard’s own assessment of his post.
“The review of facts has shown the nine-word inadvertent tweet was not about race or athletics or violence,” said Kuncl. “It was an ironic post that was a mistake, with no evidence whatsoever of hostile or unjust intentions and no abuse of University systems or values.”
