Kansas Catholic school won’t renew tennis coach’s contract after racist meme

A Catholic school in Kansas will not renew the contract of a tennis coach after a racist meme was posted to his Facebook page.

Trinity Catholic High School in Hutchinson said in a pair of Facebook posts on Saturday that Thomas Harris will not return as the boys and girls tennis coach next school year. The decision was made after consulting with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.

“Please know that the actions and comments that were made do not reflect the mission of Trinity Catholic, which is to unite parish, home, and school into a Catholic learning community, dedicated to academic excellence and spiritual growth, while forming stewards and leaders who value diversity and service to God and society,” school officials wrote in a Facebook post.

A screenshot of Harris’s Facebook page showed a post with a racist meme and a racial slur for Black people. The post read: “Here goes my chances of ever holding a position in Public Office.”

Harris has since been removed from the school staff web page, where he was listed as the high school tennis coach. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story was originally published June 14, 2020 at 6:19 PM.