People.com Entertainment Sports Mississippi State Football Coach Mike Leach Apologizes for 'Offensive' Quarantine Noose Tweet "I had no intention of offending anyone," wrote the former Washington State football coach on Twitter By Benjamin VanHoose Benjamin VanHoose Twitter Benjamin VanHoose is an Associate Editor on the Movies team at PEOPLE. He's worked at PEOPLE for over three years as a writer and reporter across our Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams, covering everything from the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial to the Oscars. He regularly covers red carpet events and has interviewed stars like Drew Barrymore, Ryan Reynolds and Kirsten Dunst. He previously worked as a copy editor at Topix Media Lab. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 3, 2020 02:08 PM Share Tweet Pin Email College football coach Mike Leach is apologizing for a now-deleted tweet. On Thursday, Leach, 59, posted an apology on Twitter writing that he didn’t mean to offend anyone when he, according to Sports Illustrated, shared a meme that depicted a woman fashioning a noose for her husband. The social media post was meant as a joke about self-isolating with family during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, commenting on raised tensions as people are cooped up together for weeks on end. “After 2 weeks of quarantine with her husband, Gertrude decided to knit him a scarf,” Leach reportedly captioned the tweet. “I sincerely regret if my choice of images in my tweets were found offensive. I had no intention of offending anyone,” he wrote after deleting the controversial tweet. Leach was hired as head coach of Mississippi State’s football squad in January after leaving a coaching gig at Washington State, according to the Associated Press. K-Pop Star Jaejoong Apologizes After April Fools’ Day Coronavirus Diagnosis Prank Leaves Fans Outraged Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories RELATED VIDEO: Peyton Manning Surprises University of Tennessee Students in Online Class Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Sends Team Plane to China to Get Medical Equipment for Massachusetts This isn’t the first time his Twitter activity has gotten Leach into hot water. In June 2018, the coach posted a video of a 2014 speech given by Barack Obama that was doctored to misrepresent the then-president’s statements, according to the Seattle Times. At the time, Washington State issued a statement to USA Today about the tweet — which Leach deleted and later posted the official full text of the Obama speech — saying that he is “entitled to his personal opinions.” University officials, in November 2018, claimed Leach’s controversial tweet cost the school about $1.6 million from disapproving donors, the Seattle Times reported. As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.