The Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson has been suspended by the team for “conduct detrimental to the club,” according to a team statement on Wednesday.
An emotional exchange on Twitter took place on Monday between Johnson and a Twitter follower, following the San Diego Chargers’ 37-7 victory over the Chiefs on Sunday. First, Johnson said some unkind things about the Chiefs coach. A fan heckled him, and Johnson retaliated with multiple tweets, one containing the derogatory slur, “think bout a clever diss then that wit your fag pic.”
As a result of the suspension, Johnson will be missing one game, which amounts to a net loss of $213,000 for the unfortunate tweeter. Johnson is appealing the suspension and released the following statement:
“I want to apologize to the fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the NFL, Commissioner (Roger) Goodell, the Chiefs organization, coach Todd Haley, his staff, and my team mates for the words I used yesterday.”
“I regret my actions. The words were used by me in frustration, and they were not appropriate. I did not intend to offend anyone, but that is no excuse for what I said.”
Of course, this wouldn’t be nearly the first example of friction occurring on Twitter between the general public and well-known stars, be they athletes, musicians, or politicians. In the music industry, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails hit headlines for making a big deal about quitting Twitter over the summer, after a group of followers continued to make racist comments about his girlfriend at the time. At this point, he’s sort of infamous for repeatedly “quitting” and retweeting, “quitting” and retweeting, evidence of his desire to embrace social media coupled with awareness of the complexities involved for someone well-known.
Also over the summer, Antonio Cromartie of the San Diego Chargers was fined $2,500 for tweeting about the poor quality of the team’s food.
Some might try to argue for Johnson using the defense that not everyone understands how Twitter is a public space and that it will be treated as such. But who will believe that? The truth is that just as people let their fired-up emotions get the better of them in everyday life, so too will regrettable outbursts occur on social sites. We may as well get used to it.
