The head football coach at Long Beach City College sent a hostile direct message to an anti-Trump journalist on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
The journalist, Aaron Rupar, took to X to post a screenshot of the DM sent by football coach Brett Peabody.
“You’re done for you sorry fascist scumbag, hope you get held accountable for the bullshit you’ve spread. Justice is in the horizon kiddo,” Peabody wrote in his message.
Rupar is an X user with over 900,000 followers who often posts anti-Trump and left-leaning content.
The original X post from Rupar shows Peabody’s name, occupation and football championship dates, making him easily recognizable.
The Viking News is currently unable to receive any comments from LBCC officials regarding the situation due to offices being closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“Campus is closed in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We are aware of the situation. This is a pending personnel matter and we will be better able to provide comments tomorrow when campus reopens and our Human Resources department is back in the office,” Stacey Toda, LBCC’s communications director, wrote in an email to the Viking News.
Peabody made his X account private after the post from Rupar.
Peabody has been the head coach at LBCC since 2013 and was previously the head coach at South High School in Torrance.
Rupar used to be a writer at Vox in 2021 writing political pieces often centered around Trump and those associated with him, but now labels himself an “independent journalist.”
Since the initial encounter, several people have reached out to the Viking News regarding Peabody’s message.
“Dang coach should be working on improving the team, not threatening reporters on Twitter,” Instagram user @willraschke commented on a post by the Viking.
Peabody has since apologized for his behavior and the attention it brought Long Beach City College according to the Long Beach Post.
The Viking News reached out to Rupar and Peabody, but neither returned phone calls over the MLK break.