Illinois State offensive coordinator Kurt Beathard quit his job Wednesday, after a controversy that began when someone hung a Black Lives Matter sign on his door.
Two weeks ago, a Black Lives Matter sign was posted on Beathard’s door. The coach then removed the sign and replaced it with a note reading “All Lives Matter to Our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ,” the Pantograph reported.
From his comments, it seems that Beathard, the son of four-time Super Bowl Champion Bobby Beathard, may have become a suspect for tearing down the BLM sign. But according to the paper, Beathard strenuously denied he had anything to do with the incident.
“That locker room crap is wrong. I took the sign down somebody put on my door. That’s it,” Beathard told the paper. “I didn’t take anything off that wasn’t put on my door. I wrote the message.”
Beathard’s resignation over the BLM agenda is not the first time the race-centric movement has roiled the Illinois State football program. In September, Redbird Director of Athletics Larry Lyons stirred controversy when he said “all redbird lives matter” in a video conference with the players.
Lyons later apologized and pledged to “listen better” in the future.
“I think we’re going to a good place,” told the media in September. “We’re all trying to reach out and listen better. I need to listen better, and we’re engaging with student-athletes about best ways to move forward. There’s some anger, and I understand that. I wouldn’t want to diminish that. This is important. We’re going to move forward. We’re going to tackle this head-on. Education is a big part of it, and that starts with me.”
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