Records newly obtained by the Long Beach Post show that Long Beach City College’s longtime football coach has agreed to resign in the wake of a controversy he sparked earlier this year by sending an aggressive message to a prominent progressive journalist.
Brett Peabody, who began coaching LBCC’s football team in 2013, came under intense scrutiny earlier this year when Aaron Rupar, a Minnesota-based publisher who amassed a following for his ongoing criticisms of President Donald Trump, publicly shared a message Peabody sent him.
“You’re done you sorry fascist scumbag, hope you get held accountable for the bulls*** that (you’ve) spread. Justice is in the horizon kiddo,” Peabody wrote in the message, which was sent privately on X around the time of Trump’s inauguration.
Rupar said he posted the message, which was viewed more than a million times, to hold Peabody accountable. Peabody later apologized for the comments, calling it “an embarrassment for the college.”
The college has repeatedly declined to comment on the situation, but emails the Post obtained through a public records request show administrators placed Peabody on paid administrative leave in February, and he agreed a month later to resign from his post at the end of the year.
According to a settlement agreement obtained by the Post, Peabody will remain on paid leave through December. After which he will resign, on the condition that he is paid a six-month severance of his base salary, which is approximately $119,763 a year.
Neither Peabody nor Rupar responded to a request for comment this week. Rupar previously said it was not his intent to get Peabody fired but said such a threatening message did raise questions about his character. Peabody said the message was not a threat and was intended as a criticism of Rupar’s work.
Others echoed those sentiments or went even further in emails to college administrators that were disclosed as part of the Post’s records request. Some called Peabody unprofessional and questioned why the school hadn’t taken more immediate steps to dismiss him.
“Brett Peabody should be fired,” one person wrote in an email to Peabody and Kal Stewart, the school’s athletic director. “His comments to journalist Aaron Rupar were uncalled (for) and unprofessional. He embarrassed the school and the football program while showing an appalling lack of judgment. He doesn’t deserve to coach a PeeWee football team.”
“Coach Peabody should be fired immediately, if your university has any self-respect,” wrote another. “Sending out attacks like this, to anybody and for any reason, is a horrible look for your athletic department and university, and is not professional behavior in any way, shape, or form.”
Others, however, defended the coach’s remarks.
“Freedom of speech is a thing that the left only thinks is granted to them,” one person wrote in an email to Peabody. “ … So if there’s anything we can do to support you in this place let us know.”
Some football players were also distraught over the resignation. An online petition advertised as being organized by members of the college football team urged the college’s board of trustees to reinstate the coach, saying he’s been a “significant and positive influence” on the team and community.
“We believe that Coach Peabody embodies the values of Long Beach City College, and has played an integral role in the development of our athletes, both on and off the field,” the post wrote. “His commitment to the personal and athletic growth of every individual has made a lasting impact, and his return would be a great benefit to our program.”
As of Wednesday, the petition, which was started in February, had earned 68 signatures.
Peabody, who took over the program in 2013, compiled a 70-47 record at LBCC. His best season came in 2015, when the Vikings finished 10-2 and won the coach of the year award for the conference. Between 2015 and 2019, he led the Vikings to four conference championship wins and four bowl games.
During the 2019 season, the Vikings entered a three-way tie for the National Northern League championship title and defeated Southwestern College in the Southern California Bowl. Seventeen players went on to sign national letters of intent at larger schools following that season.
His departure comes during a break in the Vikings’ schedule. With a scrimmage match against Saddleback College on Aug. 16, the team does not play a regular season game until Aug. 30.
On the team website, Marques Cooper, previously the team’s defensive coordinator, is listed as the acting director and head coach.