When a high-profile case such as the George Zimmerman trial occurs and elicits strong reactions from the general public, the controversy is bound to spill over onto Twitter. The nation has seen several big stories break since the social media site has become mainstream, with professional athletes chiming in on the issues from time to time. Savvy Twitter users should expect it by now.
The phrase “everybody’s got their own opinion” has only become truer with the revelation of tweeting, which is why no one should be surprised that more than a few offended some people with their 140-character opinions Saturday night after Zimmerman’s “not guilty” verdict was announced.
Let’s go through a few examples.
First up in the “I-can’t-believe-he-tweeted-that!” lineup is New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz. His initial reaction he decided to put out there for all his followers to see was: “Thoroughly confused. Zimmerman doesn’t last a year before the hood catches up to him.” After much outrage, mostly by people who don’t know much about the “hood” Cruz speaks of (he does, by the way), Cruz went on Mike & Mike In the Morning to more or less apologize, stating that he didn’t really mean what he said.
DeAndre Jordan of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers imparted: “You get jail time for dog fighting or shooting yourself but get off after killing a teenager … doesn’t make sense to me.”
Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kendrick Perkins added: “America’s justice system is a joke.”
Another top NFL wide receiver, Atlanta Falcon Roddy White, suggested the jurors kill themselves for coming to the conclusion they did. Of course, he had to go on record and apologize to everyone for saying a few words, caving into pressure.
The whole charade just seems stale now. An athlete says something, people don’t like it, then the public figure has to say, “No wait that’s not what I meant, what I really meant to say was…” and cue some watered-down, middle-of-the-road PR statement that reeks of insincerity.
Some fans must simply come to terms with the fact that their favorite quarterback/point guard/left wing/center fielder (whom they’ve never actually met in real life) will tweet certain opposing views from time to time – so what?
Is there no room for selective outrage anymore? Must every message be sanitized to conform with the general consensus of right and wrong?
Sensible people will not take White’s tweet literally. You don’t have to respect Perkins’ views on the American justice system, much less agree with them. What must be realized is professional athletes lead vastly different lives and have come from various sets of life circumstances.
Not everyone deserves an apology for every controversial statement made on a social media website. Being the Twitter police is getting tougher. Choose your battles.
