This past Sunday, Florida State football fan Kade McLendon went viral for all the wrong reasons after he allegedly sent racist and abusive messages to Miami Hurricanes defensive end Damon Wilson II following Miami’s win over the Seminoles.
By Tuesday of this week, McLendon was placed on administrative leave by The Florida Bar, where the former Florida State student worked as a computer technician.
Now, after an internal investigation conducted by The Florida Bar was completed, McLendon has officially been fired due to the vile messages sent to the Miami football star.
While McLendon alleged to The Florida Bar that his Instagram account had been hacked prior to the racist tirade directed toward Wilson’s direct messages, the organization was not convinced by the excuse and terminated his employment on Wednesday.
“The Florida Bar has concluded its internal investigation into the direct messages sent from Kade McLendon’s Instagram account to Damon Wilson,” The Florida Bar said in a statement. “Those messages were reprehensible and inconsistent with the mission, values, and policies of The Florida Bar.”
“While McLendon denies sending the messages, he did not provide evidence sufficient to demonstrate to The Florida Bar’s satisfaction that his Instagram account had been compromised,” the statement continued. “As of today, The Florida Bar has terminated McLendon’s employment.”
The swift decision to fire McLendon, led to intense reaction from those who have been following the updates on social media.
“Racist and a liar,” X user and Miami fan @heartcane wrote about McLendon and his excuse that his Instagram account was hacked.
“Imagine trying to get a new job, they google you & this whole situation comes up,” X user @sivrajxx added.
“Now Kade can dedicate himself to some much needed soul-searching,” X user @MilenaAmit said. “He will be unemployable for the foreseeable future.”
“Buddy said he was hacked,” X user @SonOfShango added in another tweet. “Guess Florida State is now 0/3 on Hail Mary’s this week.”
Miami’s 43-35 win over Florida State last Saturday came in controversial fashion after the Seminoles failed on back-to-back hail mary attempts to end the game in the second overtime period.
Florida State offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin was flagged for a questionable holding penalty after he knocked Wilson to the ground during a fourth-and-21 touchdown pass from Seminoles quarterback Ashton Daniels to wide receiver Micahi Danzy.
After the holding penalty wiped out that touchdown and put the Seminoles in a do-or-die, fourth-and-31 situation, Daniels heaved a second hail mary attempt to the end zone. The ball initially appeared to be simultaneously caught in the end zone by Florida State wide receiver Duce Robinson and Miami safety Bryce Fitzgerald.
Officials ruled the play an interception by Fitzgerald on the field, and it was upheld after video review to give Miami the eight-point victory; the now-No. 1 Hurricanes avoided a major upset after they were favored by over three touchdowns entering the game inside their home stadium.
Wilson initially posted a screenshot of the direct messages allegedly sent by McLendon on his Instagram account Sunday with the caption: “Glimpse into the life a black student athlete.”
While many of the messages Wilson received in the screenshot he shared are too explicit and insensitive to republish, McLendon used multiple racist and homophobic slurs, threatened physical and sexual abuse, and made multiple references to slavery and the history of segregation in the United States.
“You’re the type of people that should be forced to the back of the bus,” McLendon wrote in one of the messages sent to Wilson.
Social media users reposted Wilson’s screenshot online and matched the full name used on McLendon’s Instagram account to a LinkedIn profile that also appeared to belong to McLendon.
While that LinkedIn account has now been deleted, it showed that McLendon identified himself as a Florida State student from January 2022-December 2023. It also listed his current job title as “Computer Technician” for The Florida Bar, which is a “statewide professional organization of lawyers that serves as an advocate & intermediary for attorneys, the court & the public,” according to a social media account belonging to the organization.
Following multiple people online contacting The Florida Bar to inform the organization about McLendon’s alleged comments toward Wilson, an investigation began. That inquiry ultimately led to the decision to fire McLendon on Wednesday.
