Former Alabama player fired from high school coaching job for social media pic from 3 years ago
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Yes, you read that headline correctly. Former Alabama defensive back Fernando Bryant was fired from his head coaching job at Strong Rock Christian School thanks to a picture posted on social media three years ago.
What exactly did the post in question contain? Bryant and his wife holding a bottle, which is believed to have contained alcohol. According to 11 Alive NBC Atlanta, it was the photo below, posted three years ago, that got Bryant fired 20 days after landing his job at Strong Rock Christian.
Ok, this is real….but very odd.
HS coach fired b/c of a picture posted on his wife’s Instagram 3 years ago https://t.co/wP56R1JEtq pic.twitter.com/rfAlZZf9gO
— FootballScoop (@FootballScoop) February 22, 2017
Bryant was reportedly asked to resign by the school after parents raised concern with his past social media activity. When Bryant declined to resign, he was let go by the school.
Here’s the text of the termination letter Bryant received from the school.
“This letter will confirm that Strong Rock Christian School has made a decision not to move forward with your employment in the position of head coach of the football team and physical education teacher. As we discussed, after we made the offer to you, some within our parent community raised concerns regarding your family’s public presence on social media and the internet and questioned whether the postings and information were consistent with our Christian values. We’re sorry that our relationship had to end before it started. We wish you the best.”
According to Bryant, it is not forbidden for Rock Christian School employees to drink alcohol. Bryant also claims that the school did an extensive background check on himself and his wife before he landed the job, which included reviewing their social media history.
If you ever doubted whether your social media history could get you fired, here’s some evidence that it can do just that. No matter how incident your posts appear to be.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
