Florida Bar places employee on leave over 'morally reprehensible' comments to Miami football player

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Florida Bar said Tuesday it has placed an employee on administrative leave amid an investigation into online comments that were sent to a Miami football player after the Hurricanes beat Florida State last weekend.

Kade McLendon, who has worked at the Bar for about two years as a computer technician, was identified as the employee. An account from a person using McLendon's name sent a number of messages to Miami's Damon Wilson II after the Hurricanes' 43-35 victory, including several racist and homophobic slurs.

Wilson, who is Black, shared a screenshot of the messages publicly Sunday, calling it a "glimpse into the life of a black student athlete."

"The messages in question are not only ethically and morally reprehensible but also violate our internal social media policy for employees," the Bar said in its statement. "As the internal investigation continues, we are committed to enforcing our policies and procedures while making sure that any due process rights are protected."

An attempt by The Associated Press to reach McLendon on Tuesday was unsuccessful. It's unclear why the private messages were sent to Wilson, who is in his first season at Miami after previously playing at Georgia and Missouri.

"That's my brother and I embrace him," Miami offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez said Tuesday when asked about Wilson and the online comments. "It's more than a game. That's my brother."

Miami, the No. 1-ranked team in the AP Top 25, next plays Saturday at home against Pittsburgh.

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