When The Written Word Goes Too Far

As a writer, there is a responsibly to report the facts and assert their own opinions in the story if it is warranted as gracefully as possible; this is not the case when you’re a sports writer. In this time of economic uncertainty, it is unwise to do anything that might jeopardize job stability. A piece of common sense that missed sports writer Tony Grossi as he fired a less than complementary tweet targeting Browns owner Randy Lerner according to “Shutdown Corner” author Doug Farrar, the emotionally filled tweet was sent into cyber-space as saying: “"He's a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world.". One doesn’t know if this was coming from the point of view of a fan or a Brown’s beat. One is mystified as to the reasoning of the message as the Browns were not a contender at the time the journalist posted the defaming comment.

While I am not condoning the actions of the writer, the fact needs to be set straight that the results of this year’s Superbowl has been met with contention like no other. Death threats against Kyle Williams, punt-returner for the 49er’s has been selected because misguided fans believe the team’s loss was due to a series of “miscues” and a loss of communication between teammates, “Fans” have suggested that Williams commit suicide. these threats don’t make any sense as the. Giants had much the same problem in the games as well. Everyone has the right of free speech, however when one threatens the well being of another as well as their family, it becomes a different issue entirely. These players have a job to do and at the end of the day, families to go home to. They shouldn’t be concerned that their safety be contingent on how well one performs on the field. The important thing is Williams is being supported by his teammates and the mistakes are being regarded as just that. “He needs to be criticized, not crucified”. I imagine the same thing would have happened , had the game gone the other way. It seems to me that spectators take the game more seriously if not as seriously, one would believe there were 2000 people on the field instead of in the stands.

Social media sites have been the subject of controversy since they have come into existence, as it has become a stage for bullying as well as offline violence as well. There have been too many deaths because individuals have taken malicious suggestions like go “jump off a bridge” seriously. Consequently, there are people without family members and perhaps a little too late facebook has come up with a way of notifying assistance for people who might be in distress. The SFPD have their hands full should they have under investigation if 140 counts of character assignation which is a great undertaking because of the obvious jurisdiction problems. Many assume that the written word is less painful than words that are spoken because a person can discard of them, however they take a toll on a person emotionally.