MISSOULA — A high school football coach in Montana will keep his job after suggesting in a social media post that Black Lives Matter protesters in Salt Lake City should be hanged, the Darby school board decided.
The school board conducted an investigation and voted Thursday to discipline coach Jeff Snavely rather than fire him.
Replying to a Facebook post on May 31 in support of law enforcement, Snavely wrote about protesters: “they should all be strung up and hang in the public like the old days. Lot less of that (expletive) would go on.”
Snavely has said he is “deeply regretful” about the post and it has been deleted.
“It could have been worded differently and none of this would have been an issue. That is my problem to bear,” Snavely said during the Thursday meeting.
The disciplinary measures will include a letter of reprimand, suspension from games, mandatory racial sensitivity training and likely a component of addressing the student body and others, the Missoulian reported.
The length of his suspension will be decided with the input of the school’s incoming superintendent, the board said.
Snavely, who has coached the football team since 2014, said during the meeting that he is not racist.
“I’ve played football in this valley with other races. I am sorry for the words I typed. I understand how they could be seen as racist,” he said.
More than a dozen citizens voiced their concerns during the meeting. Almost all were in agreement that Snavely should be fired.