In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) asked Georgia voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams if she could list the specific things she objects to in Georgia's restrictive new voting law. 'It's a long list,' the Senate Democrats' Twitter account said, helping the exchange go viral on Wednesday. Kennedy and Abrams are both very smart lawyers who. One Twitter user started a thread on the iconic Sarah Michelle Geller drama only to be told that Abrams is actually a massive fan of the show. 'Fun little tidbit about Stacey Abrams—she's a huge. — Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 6, 2020 Abrams activism has left voters feeling empowered enough to cast their ballots and apparently cause a possible groundbreaking change in Georgia. 2m Followers, 219 Following, 1,066 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams). The latest tweets from @staceyabrams.
© Photo by Handout/DNCC via Getty Images A football coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga was fired Thursday after posting a tweet that made fun of Stacey Abrams, a former governor's candidate in Georgia.
The offensive line coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga was fired Thursday after he tweeted a statement that mocked Georgia politician Stacey Abrams.
Assistant coach Chris Malone was let go after he tweeted, and later deleted, a statement Tuesday night during the Georgia senate runoff elections, and the involvement of Abrams, who was a governor's candidate in 2018 and later a possible running mate of Joe Biden.
Here's the tweet from Tuesday.
'Congratulations to the state GA and Fat Albert @staceyabrams because you have truly shown America the true works of cheating in an election, again!!!' Malone's tweet state, according to Twitter user Chattanooga Holler. 'Enjoy the buffet Big Girl! You earned it!!! Hope the money was good, still not governor!'
Tennessee-Chattanooga head coach Rusty Wright and athletics director Mark Wharton each issued statements regarding their actions to let go of Malone.
'Our football program has a clear set of standards,' Wright said. 'Those standards include respecting others. It is a message our players hear daily. It is a standard I will not waiver on. What was posted on social media by a member of my staff is unacceptable and not any part of what I stand for or what Chattanooga Football stands for. Life is bigger than football and as leaders of young men we have to set that example, first and foremost. With that said, effectively immediately, that individual is no longer a part of my staff.'
Statements below from head coach Rusty Wright and Director of Athletics Mark Wharton. pic.twitter.com/qRbQgbrvi3
— Chattanooga Football (@GoMocsFB) January 7, 2021Malone, who has since deleted his Twitter account, once coached at Virginia State, an historically Black university. He has spent the last two seasons at Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Abrams was a member of the Georgia state assembly from 2007-2017 before her run for governor. After her loss to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams became even more politically active on a regional and national stage. Her latest involvement included support for Georgia senate Democrat candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who both won reelection to help flip the U.S. Senate from red to blue, giving Democrats control now of the House, the Senate and the White House.
After Malone's Tweet, Mocs AD Mark Wharton said it was 'appalling.'
'The sentiments in that post do not represent the values of our football program, our athletics department or our university,' Wharton said.
Chattanooga is located in southeast Tennessee, right on the border with northwest Georgia.
Other stops in Malone's journey as a coach include Old Dominion, James Madison, Massachusetts and other schools.
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Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams educated Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) about election laws at a Senate Judiciary hearing on Tuesday.
Graham began his questioning of Abrams by asking her about her support for voter identification.
'Yes,' Abrams said. 'There are 35 states in the United States that have had voter identification laws. In fact, every state requires some form of identification. What I've objected to is restrictive voter identification laws that narrow the set of permissible materials.'
'The answer is yes as a concept,' Graham interrupted. 'Do you support the idea that voting should be limited to American citizens?'
'Yes,' Abrams replied.
'Do you support ballot harvesting?' Graham asked.
Abrams noted that 'ballot harvesting' is a 'term of art that's been propagated to describe a variety efforts.'
She argued that so-called ballot harvesting is 'appropriate' in some circumstances where voters would not otherwise have their votes counted.
'To the extend that they help voters participate in a lawful manner, they should be permitted,' Abrams said.
Graham went on to press Abrams about the voting laws that were recently pushed through by Republicans in Georgia.
'Do you believe the Republicans in Georgia -- House, Senate -- when they are making the changes to your state voting laws, do you think they are motivated by trying to suppress the African-American vote?' the senator wondered.
'I have seen it happen that sometimes they are,' Abrams admitted. 'I have seen other bills that have been truly bipartisan in nature.'
Fair Fight Stacey Abrams Donate
'But do you believe that's the motivation behind these laws?' Graham pressed.
Stacey Abrams Twitter Jan 6
'I believe the motivation behind certain provisions in SB 202 are a direct result to the increased participation of communities of color in the 2020 and 2021 elections,' Abrams explained.
'I'm out of time,' Graham lamented. 'Do you think the [Georgia] Speaker of the House Jan Jones is motivated by trying to limit the African-American voters in Georgia?'
'I believe there is racial animus that generated those bills,' Abrams insisted. 'I would not assume that that racial animus is shared by every person. But the result is that racial animus exists and if it eliminates access to the right to vote then regardless of a certain person's heart, if the effect is deleterious to the ability of people of color to participate in elections then that is problematic and that is wrong.'
'It should be rejected by all,' she added.