Not familiar with the term
I can see how the word "coon" could be interpreted according to its commonly-understood pejorative meaning. Bit of a puzzler to resolve the disconnect between its special usage by this group and its widespread usage as a racial epithet.
There's precedent for this kind of situation. Terms like "fanny" and "knock up" have different meanings in American versus British English, and in Irish English "crack" means "a good time". The terms don't touch on race, which is probably why the misunderstandings are a source of simple amusement.
Beats me how to settle it, Frank. From your second-to-last paragraph, it sounds like it'll turn out to be a flash in the pan and then be forgotten quickly, no action required.