An assistant football coach at Knightdale (North Carolina) High School was celebrating his team’s win at a bar, and a since-deleted Instagram video that surfaced from the night resulted in him stepping down.
As reported by ABC11, 32-year-old John Hoskins, after his team defeated Corinth Holders (Wendell, North Carolina) in overtime, can be heard in a video saying “White power, Knightdale. I still love you, (n-word).”
“Fifteen seconds of fame in the wrong way. I’ve ruined the last 12 years of my career,” John Hoskins told ABC11 exclusively.
School administrators saw the video before it got deleted. He submitted a resignation the day after.
This is the resignation letter from the assistant 🏈 coach at Knightdale High who was seen on video using the N-word and shouting “White Power, Knightdale.” He explained to me this was locker room talk condoned by his black players, he used while celebrating Friday with friends. pic.twitter.com/MjDURjU3nQ
— Tim Pulliam (@TimABC11) November 5, 2019
Knightdale principal Keith Richardson sent a message to school families regarding the incident, which said that the comments “do not reflect our values at Knightdale High School and will not be tolerated.” The school district superintendent Cathy Moore told ABC11 that she was disappointed and angry by the remarks.
“Just to set the record, I’m not racist,” Hoskins told ABC11 on Tuesday. “I don’t mean it in a negative way.”