The 26-year-old University of Tennessee sideline reporter is forced to resign after her n-word tweets resurfaced from when she was a teenager — but fans urge the school for her recovery
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A sideline reporter from the University of Tennessee is out of a job, apparently because of her use of the n-word in tweets when she was a teenager.
Kasey Funderburg, who worked for the Vol Network and appeared on the ESPN-run SEC Network, has resigned, an athletics department spokesperson told Knox News.
An official reason for her resignation has not been disclosed, but it comes days after old Twitter posts of hers from 2013 and 2014 surfaced in which she used the n-word.
A spokesman for the Tennessee athletics department declined to go into detail about her resignation, except that it took effect on Oct. 27. Officially, Funderburg was a host on the Tennessee Athletics broadcasting division who also had on-air roles on several Vol Network programs.
Kasey Funderburg, who worked for the Vol Network and appeared on the ESPN-run SEC Network, has resigned, an athletics department spokesperson told Knox News.
The abusive tweets were sent by Funderburg back in 2013, when she was just 17
The official reason behind Funderburg’s resignation remains unclear
The tweets were revealed after her online interaction with an alleged Twitter troll known as Richard G. West, who often targets the University of Tennessee and their fans. After West told Vols fans to paint their faces black before Saturday’s game against Kentucky, Funderburg called on him for spreading false information and trying to persuade Tennessee believers to wear offensive blackface.
The tweets were revealed after her online interaction with an alleged Twitter troll known as Richard G. West, who often targets the University of Tennessee and their fans.
After West told Vols fans to paint their faces black before Saturday’s game against Kentucky, Funderburg called on him for spreading false information and persuading Tennessee believers to wear offensive blackface.
“THIS IS A FALSE ACCOUNT and it’s disgusting that this person thinks it’s okay to make such a joke,” Funderburg said from her account. outkick. “Please don’t believe everything you read on Twitter.”
Though her account is now set to private, Funderburg has also been reported to have posted another tweet describing Wes as a “person who thinks it’s funny to say Tennessee asking fans to wear blackface is disgusting.”
After that, other Twitter accounts started posting her old tweets, in which she used the n-word, according to Outkick.
“Please don’t let yourself down,” Funderburg, now 26, wrote in 2014.
Two similar tweets were also revealed.
Since her resignation, a Change.org petition has been launched to bring her back to the Vol Network.
The petition has more than 1,000 signatures.
Funderburg was defended on Twitter by several Vols fans, who want to reinstate her