Danny Kaspar resigned as Texas State men's basketball head coach amid an investigation surrounding allegations he directed racially insensitive language toward his players, the school announced on Tuesday.
Assistant Terrence Johnson will serve as the interim head coach for the 2020-2021 season. In a statement, the school said it would not discuss additional details about Kaspar's resignation.
In June, former Texas State guard Jaylen Shead tweeted that Kaspar told him and other members of the predominantly Black team to "chase that chicken" during team wind sprints.
When Kaspar wanted players to move faster in drills, Shead said, Kaspar would tell them to act as if a "brown man with a [turban] and an AK-47" had entered the gym. Per Shead, who transferred to Washington State for his final season in 2019-2020, Kaspar had threatened to have an international player deported and told Black players they'd end up at "Popeyes" if they didn't rise above a 2.2 GPA.
"I could overlook the way he disregarded the rules and our health," Shead tweeted. "But I could not turn away from the many racially insensitive things that were said to me and other teammates."
At the time, Alex Peacock, Shead's former teammate at Texas State, corroborated Shead's account in a conversation with ESPN and said he was present when Kaspar made the comments.
"My reaction to that is just 'Wow,'" Peacock told ESPN on Tuesday about Kaspar's resignation. "I'm honestly surprised. I was under the impression he'd remain the head coach from what I was hearing but that's actually crazy."
The school launched a Title IX investigation following Shead's tweets.
Larry Teis, the school's athletic director, quickly condemned Kaspar's alleged remarks in June.
"I am aware of the allegations of former Texas State University men's basketball players regarding racially biased comments attributed to men's basketball head coach Danny Kaspar," Teis said in a June statement. "I personally find these allegations deeply troubling. I, and the entire Department of Athletics staff, take the concerns expressed by our former student-athletes very seriously. At my request, the university has launched a formal investigation through the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX. It is our top priority to fully cooperate with the investigation. The Department of Athletics is committed to strengthening our university culture that values and supports diversity, equity and inclusion for our student-athletes, staff, and community."
Kaspar, 65, won 20 or more games at Texas State in three of his last four seasons. He'd previously coached at Stephen F. Austin and Incarnate Word.