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Chaminade assistant men’s basketball coach Mike Mathey has resigned after he allegedly sent a text message that contained a racial slur.
Mathey tendered his resignation Wednesday night and the university accepted it Thursday, the school said in a news release. He had been placed on administrative leave after the text message, sent last weekend, was reported to school officials.
Hawaii News Now reported that Mathey intended to send the text to a friend, but mistakenly sent it to the player. The school said the slur thought to be in the text was the N-word. The player was not identified.
“Mike decided it was in his best interest and the interest of the team that he should resign immediately, and we have accepted his resignation,” Eric Bovaird, Chaminade head basketball coach, said. “Inappropriate text messaging and the use of racial-biased language is not something that will be tolerated neither by me nor by Chaminade University.”
This was Mathey’s first season as assistant men’s basketball coach at Chaminade. Originally from Prospect, Ohio, he has played college and overseas basketball.
“I am very proud of the fact that we have a very diverse team from various countries and different backgrounds,” said Bovaird.