North Carolina high school football coach resigns after video shows him saying n-word, ‘white power’

An assistant high school football coach from Wake County, N.C., has submitted his resignation in the wake of a viral video that shows him using the n-word and saying “white power.”

John Hoskins, who coached football at the Knightdale High School, made the remarks in a video that was captured at a bar shortly after the team’s victory over Corinth Holders High, which is located in a nearby county.

{mosads}In the video, Hoskins could be seen saying: “White power, Knightdale. I still love you, n—–.”

Hoskins, who coached a majority-black team at the local high school, told ABC 11 on Tuesday that he made the remarks in fun and said he did not “mean it in a negative way.”

He told the station that he has black friends who said he could use the word and added that players on the high school team he coached were also unfazed by it.

“They joke around. We joke around. They walk up to me and say it. ‘Hey coach, just say it. You’re a good coach. Just say it.’ Once in a while, it slips,” Hoskins said. “Once a year, it slips. To have them smile and laugh. Besides that, I mean nothing from it.”

“Just to set the record, I’m not racist,” he told the station.

However, Hoskins added that with the “15 seconds of fame in the wrong way,” he has “ruined the last 12 years of my career.” 

After the video of him using the slur, which is against school policy, began to make the rounds online, Hoskins said he decided resign from his position.

Cathy Moore, who is the superintendent of Wake County Public School System, told the station that the coach’s “language, the context is not OK.”

“And unfortunately, social media will show you a piece of something but not all of something. And this man is an adult. And he should know better,” she added.