Wake Forest athletics responds after football intern tweets support for Capitol rioters
The Wake Forest athletics department attempted to distance itself from comments tweeted by a part-time video coordinator who declared he “could not be a prouder American” as pro-Donald Trump extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
Harrison “Brice” Brazell, who works as an intern in creative video for Wake’s football team, deleted his Twitter account after sending out two posts during the insurrection in Washington, D.C. including one that read: “MAGA! Radical left is destroying this country.” The News & Observer reached out to Brazell by email Thursday but did not receive a reply.
Will Pantages, a Wake Forest associate athletic director, declined to tell the N&O the status of Brazell’s employment, saying via email that Wake, “does not discuss internal employment matters.” Pantages in an email to the N&O shared a statement that was also posted to the Wake Forest athletics Twitter account on Wednesday. The statement protected Brazell’s rights to speak freely, while disagreeing with the content of his posts:
“Social media comments made on personal accounts of employees do not represent the position of Wake Forest University, including the tweet posted and since deleted by a part-time hourly intern.”
It’s unclear if Brazell is still employed by Wake Forest University.
Chattanooga fires coach for racist tweet
Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch did not refer to Brazell’s tweets, but called the events in Washington, D.C., “tragic” in a posted letter on the school’s website on Wednesday:
“We are appalled by the violent siege of our nation’s capital, the conspiracy theories and wild accusations that inflamed the mob, and the words of leaders that fanned these flames.”
Brazell graduated from Clemson in August with a degree in psychology, according to Clemson’s athletic website. His Twitter account bio also said that he was a brand ambassador for Kanga Coolers, which originated in Clemson.
The N&O attempted to reach Wake football coach Dave Clawson for comment, but Pantages said the school stood by its statement and would have no further comment.
Wake Forest athletic director John Currie did not respond to a text message on Thursday from the N&O.
Social media posts can have major consequences for those who represent athletic departments. Chattanooga fired its offensive line coach Chris Malone for his tweet referring to former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams as “Fat Albert” and making reference to a stolen election.
Both its athletic director Mark Wharton and head football coach Rusty Wright released statements labeling Malone’s tweet as “unacceptable” and “appalling.”
Twitter responds to Wake Forest
Wake Forest athletics got push back on Twitter about its statement concerning Brazell’s tweets.
Some called for his firing.
Others called out the school for downplaying Brazell’s tweets because of his part-time intern status.
Some were disappointed in the university for its response and thought Wake should have done more.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Wake Forest athletics responds after football intern tweets support for Capitol rioters."