A North Carolina high school football has resigned after being caught on Instagram shouting "White power" and "I still love you, n****rs."

John Hoskins claims, despite recording himself shouting offensive and derogatory racial slurs, that he's indeed not a racist. 

“Just to set the record, I’m not racist,” Hoskins told local station WTVD on Tuesday. "I don't mean it in a negative way."

The 32-year-old, who is an assistant coach at Knightdale High School, said he was out with a group of friends celebrating a team victory when he recorded the video and posted it to Instagram.

"White power, Knightdale. I still love you, n****rs," he said in the video. 

Although the video was quickly deleted, school administrators had already received word of his actions, according to CBS News.

In a doleful attempt to gain pity, the assistant coach resigned with a pathetic one-sentence email. 

"I, John Phillip Hoskins, resign effective immediately as a football coach from Knightdale High school," the email read.

Ill-advised, Hoskins said his Black friends OK'd him to use the racial slur, according to WTVD.

“I guess I’ve been around them for so long. We’re friends. I mean nothing from it,” he told the local station. “The word can be used in multiple ways. They treat me as any of their own friends.”

He also admitted that his Black players encourage him to use the word, which he sometimes lets slip for a good laugh.

“They joke around. We joke around. They walk up to me and say it. ‘Hey coach, just say it. You’re a good coach. Just say it.’ Once in a while, it slips,” he said. “Once a year, it slips. To have them smile and laugh. Besides that, I mean nothing from it.”

Keith Richardson, the principal at the school, released a statement to parents. 

"It is the responsibility of a coach to uphold the highest standards of behavior. They are role models to our children on and off the field, and are trusted to coach our students with the utmost integrity. When a staff member breaks that trust, it is deeply upsetting. Furthermore, using the language of white supremacy stirs up feelings of fear, intimidation and threats of racial violence," the statement read. 

Superintendent Cathy Moore said Hoskins', who wasn't a full-time employee or teacher at the school, actions were unacceptable and violated the district's code of conduct policy.

"The language, the context is not OK. And unfortunately, social media will show you a piece of something but not all of something. And this man is an adult. And he should know better," she said.

The school district said they plan to adjust their diversity plan moving forward.

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