For those of you who use Twitter, consider the following a lesson in the ways of proper usage of Social Media tools. According to www.clevescene.com, Cleveland Browns Beat writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Tony Grossi, has been pulled from that position because of a controversial "tweet" that he sent out.
Grossi was a good resource to us here at Cincy Jungle because he kept us up to date on all things Browns. He tweeted frequently about the team and gave a lot of up-to-date information about the Browns which we here found very helpful. So, we hope that he lands back on his feet again soon.
That said, the tweet that cost Grossi his position at the CPD was a venomous one towards Browns owner, Randy Lerner. It has since been deleted from his account, but the contents were saved by some where apparently Grossi said of Lerner:
"He is a pathetic figure, the most irrelevant billionaire in the world."
Maybe this was just an impulsive tweet from nothing more than a simple, disgruntled Browns fan--not unlike a lot of us Bengals fans. Maybe it was one of a reporter who was snubbed after an attempt at an interview. We don't really know.
Many of us Bengals fans and other public figures have tossed out public insults to Bengals owner Mike Brown over the years--some of them warranted, some not. It's safe to assume that he's heard many of these criticisms in one form or another. While it's frustrating that Brown has chosen the road of a recluse to the media and his critics, he hasn't gone to the lengths that Lerner apparently did and demand a reporter's head.
Regardless, Grossi's story should be a lesson to all who tweet: watch what you tweet, when you tweet and how you tweet it--you never know who is watching or who you could offend.