An East Texas school superintendent who made racist remarks on Facebook about Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has resigned.
Lynn Redden, formerly of the Onalaska Independent School District, made his remarks shortly after the Texans lost Sunday to the Titans, 20-17. Houston had the ball at midfield with 17 seconds remaining but time expired after Watson found DeAndre Hopkins for a 31-yard gain.
''We tried to take a shot,'' Watson said afterwards. ''We didn't have any timeouts, and they guarded the sideline very well. My instincts took over and tried to get the ball and time ran out.''
That prompted Redden to write on the Houston Chronicle's Facebook page, "That may have been the most inept quarterback decision I've seen in the NFL. When you need precision decision making you can't count on a black quarterback."
Redden thought he had sent a private message but instead posted the comments publicly. On Monday, he offered this explanation to the Chronicle: "I wish it had never been posted," he said, adding: "Over the history of the NFL, they have had limited success."
When brought to his attention, Watson took the high road.
"That's on him -- let peace be with him," he said. "I'm all about love."
Texans coach Bill O'Brien, meanwhile, wasn't in a forgiving mood.
"I don't want to waste a lot of time responding to outdated, inaccurate, ignorant, idiotic statements. I'll just let Deshaun's proven success on the field, his character off the field, speak of itself," O'Brien said this week. "He's one of the greatest guys I've ever coached. He represents everything that's right about football, about life. His teammates respect him, his coaching staff respects him. This day in age, it's amazing that BS exists, but it does. We're moving forward. Our fans, they love Deshaun."
J.J. Watt added: "I don't think it deserves any attention from any of us. It's a very ignorant comment that doesn't deserve any more play. It's very unfortunate. I trust him (Watson). We all trust him."
During a special school board meeting convened Saturday morning, it was was announced that Redden's resignation had been received and accepted.
