The Florida Bar has placed a staffer on administrative leave after a social media account allegedly sent racist messages to Miami Hurricanes defensive end Damon Wilson II following Miami’s 43-35 double-overtime win over Florida State at Hard Rock Stadium last Saturday.
The account, @aye_its_kade951, is apparently owned by Kade McLendon, who first attended Daytona State College before transferring to Florida State University in January of 2022. According to LinkedIn, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology the next year and later worked as a Computer Technician at The Florida Bar, the organization for all lawyers licensed by the Supreme Court of Florida to practice law in the state.
After MiamiRoundtable asked for comment on the alleged incident, The Florida Bar issued a statement saying, “The Florida Bar is aware of the messages that were possibly sent from an employee’s social media account that contained inappropriate content and we have started an internal investigation into the matter.”
The organization later followed up with a second statement: “The Florida Bar has put the employee Kate McLendon on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing,” it said. “The messages in question are not only ethically and morally reprehensible, but also violate our internal social media policy for employees. As the internal investigation continues, we are committed to enforcing our policies and procedures while making sure that any due process rights are protected.”
The incident surfaced after Wilson II posted the alleged messages on Instagram. Wilson II transferred to Coral Gables from Missouri in the spring and has 3.5 sacks this season, which puts him among the Hurricanes’ sack leaders.
The backlash came in the middle of one of college football’s most loaded rivalries. Miami and Florida State first met on Oct. 5, 1951, and the series has delivered championship moments and heartbreak over 75 years, including Wide Right and Wide Left.
Saturday’s game had plenty of drama of its own. In the second overtime, Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels, a fifth-year senior, launched a Hail Mary to Micahi Danzy for a 36-yard touchdown, but the play was wiped out because left tackle Xavier Chaplin was flagged for holding on Wilson II. The play was not reviewed.
On the next sequence, Daniels went deep again, this time finding Duce Robinson from the 45-yard line toward the end zone. Hurricanes cornerback/safety Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted the pass, and that call was reviewed before the ACC replay center upheld it.
Miami is set to face Pitt on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. E.T. on ESPN, while the matter involving McLendon remains under investigation.
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