NMSU Athletics is in the news once again after offensive language was found in old social media posts made by offensive coordinator and quarterback coach Tyler Wright. The old posts were found to contain derogatory language referring to multiple groups of people as well as references to an old Ugandan warlord on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In a story that KTSM’s Sam Guzman broke, Wright’s old posts caused NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia to issue a statement that the university will review the matter. Moccia told the Las Cruces Sun-News that he was previously unaware of the posts.
Wright has been removed from the team while the matter is under investigation.
Wright was a player at Tarleton State University between 2011 and 2014, where he made 150 different controversial posts containing offensive and derogatory language towards people of color, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.
The Sun-News also reported that there are allegedly 60 posts by Wright referring to Ugandan warlord Joseph Koney, who founded the Christian extremist organization, the Lord’s Resistance Army. The organization is labeled as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department.
Several posts have also been identified where Wright used derogatory language towards Hispanic and Black people. One post in reference to Hispanic people, who make up the majority of the Las Cruces population, states: “Oiled up and dark! Lookin’ like a Mexican”. For context, 62% of the Las Cruces population is of Hispanic origin, according to United States Census data.
When it comes to his use of homophobic and sexist language, some of his posts contained slurs directed toward the LGBTQ+ community several times during his four years as a player.
The investigation looking into Wright’s online conduct is still underway, and when the news broke right before the Battle of I-25 Rivalry game, NMSU head coach Tony Sanchez had little to say.
“We didn’t find out until really late last night,” Sanchez said. “[We] had no opportunity to know what was exactly going on. It’s kind of funny how it got dropped at the last second … late at night, in the dead of the night. But no, you know, we just haven’t had a chance to review that and we’ll comment on it later.”
UPDATE:
On Friday Sept. 11, 2024, it was announced that coach Tyler Wright was no longer part of New Mexico State University’s coaching staff according to a university spokesperson.
