Former UBC men’s basketball assistant coach faces backlash for liking controversial tweet
Posted June 7, 2020 2:15 pm.
Last Updated June 11, 2020 9:54 am.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error. It now also includes a statement that was issued by Vern Knopp on June 11.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — An assistant coach with the UBC men’s basketball team will not be returning to the school, a decision revealed after he liked a controversial Twitter post.
Vern Knopp has come under fire for liking a tweet which reads “Black Lives Matter is a leftist LIE.”
The tweet in question is a meme that was apparently made from a longer video that Knopp says “shared different perspectives on Black Lives Matter and forced me to deliberate things that I hadn’t considered.”
That perspective includes promoting “all lives matter,” which some activists consider to be racist.
In a statement tweeted out on Thursday, Knopp says UBC “distanced itself” from him over the controversy, saying, “Rather than considering my stellar record & commitment, UBC distanced itself from me based on a screenshot that provided zero frame of reference. At minimum, UBC had an obligation to hear my side and spend 7 minutes watching the video to understand the context and get the whole story.”
STATEMENT: Someone distorted the truth, #UBC bought it & removed me as a #basketball coach. Click the image to read my side of the story.@UBC @ubcnews @ubctbirds @ubcprez @KavinderToor @MutedMadnessPod @risingaction @theprovince @GlobalBC @Cernovich @hodgetwins @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/M26ngp5QDu
— Unacceptable Vern (@Vknopp40) June 11, 2020
The liked tweet was screenshotted and shared by Muted Madness, a Canadian university basketball podcast account, on June 4.
UBC Assistant Coach @VKnopp40 – you’re tripping. Get this crap outta here pic.twitter.com/v9I9wZ7p8z
— Muted Madness (@MutedMadnessPod) June 4, 2020
Kavie Toor, UBC’s athletic director, responded to the tweet by saying “Vern Knopp’s personal opinions, beliefs, and social media endorsements do not represent the ideals and values of the UBC Thunderbirds. Vern Knopp is no longer a member of the Thunderbirds men’s basketball coaching staff.”
https://twitter.com/KavinderToor/status/1268703312821420033
Knopp said on Twitter on June 4 he wasn’t planning on coming back to work at the school, and that he was surprised at the uproar over him liking what he called a “conservative” post.
