Mississippi State coach Mike Leach found himself in hot water recently, tweeting out a meme that contained an image of a noose.

He has since deleted the tweet and apologized, but 2 players have entered the transfer portal since then, including 1 whose father said the noose tweet played a big part in the decision.

On Tuesday, Mississippi State AD John Cohen issued a statement about the tweet, saying he’s confident this was a one-time mistake by Leach:

“No matter the context, for many Americans the image of a noose is never appropriate and that’s particularly true in the South and in Mississippi. Mississippi State University was disappointed in the use of such an image in a tweet by Coach Mike Leach. He removed the tweet and issued a public apology. The university is confident that  Coach Leach is moving quickly and sincerely past this unintended misstep and will provide the leadership for our student athletes and excitement for our football program that our fans deserve and that our students and alumni will be proud to support.”

Cohen added that Leach will have additional listening sessions with different groups of people around campus and will expand his cultural awareness of all things Mississippi.