The Houston Rockets closed out a pretty one-sided series over the Dallas Mavericks, winning 4-1 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. Immediately following the game, the official Houston Rockets’ twitter page sent a questionable message to the Mavericks organization.
Followers exploded with response, with most taking offense to the allusion to taking a horse “out-to-pasture” where horses are euthanized.
The Mavericks’ social media team responded by dubbing the joke “not very classy” while wishing the Rockets the best of luck for the rest of the playoffs. The Rockets deleted the tweet and issued an apology for the previously crass tone before insisting that it does not take away from the respect that the organization has for the Mavericks. Things did not end there, unfortunately for Chad Shanks, the Rockets’ social media manager at the time. Chad Shanks was fired. The Rockets cut ties with the man responsible for the tweet, in an apparent attempt to save face publicly.
Sometimes you can go too far. I will no longer run @HoustonRockets but am grateful to the organization that let me develop an online voice.
— Chad Shanks (@chadjshanks) April 29, 2015
Opinions on the tweet vary. While the overwhelming majority on Twitter seemed to take exception to the joke, there were certainly others who saw the humor, as well as a large number that simply did not care. Mavericks star power forward Dirk Nowitzki was asked about the tweet in a post-game press conference, owner Mark Cuban was questioned constantly for a period of time, and ESPN talked about the incident for days.
While a topic like animal cruelty is far from something to scoff at, the issue becomes at what point will society stop taking things seriously, literally, or being in a constant struggle of trying not to offend someone. The tweet was crass. It lacked tact, and might have been a bit much. That’s where the discussion should probably end. In no means, is not being upset a way to advocate the killing or abuse of animals, but if there is a search for something to be upset about, there will always be a winner. The tweet used emojis for Pete’s sake.
In a text conversation, emojis serve as lighthearted change-of-pace illustrations. The day an official document has an emoji in it will be the day that emojis should start being taken seriously. Also, when it comes to sports teams and their respective Twitters, sarcastic jabs are nothing new. The tweet might have overstepped the playful nature that fans are used to on social media, but it wasn’t done with malice. The goal of the tweet was to poke fun at the Mavericks after an embarrassing series, which it did. The tweet caused plenty of hard feelings on a broad scale, but the Mavericks and their fans that it was directed at seemed to take it in stride with the loss. Cuban said in an interview with the Seattle Times that the thing that hurt was getting beat 4-1, not anything on Twitter. The Mavericks owner understands Twitter for what it is truly meant to be, as a melting pot for millions of user opinions.
I may have been the first person in history to be fired due to an emoji combination. That’s something, I guess.
— Chad Shanks (@chadjshanks) April 30, 2015
For a sports fan or former athlete, trash talk is nothing new. In the most basic explanation possible, what happened on Twitter was trash talk involving two organizations rather than players. Just like chatter on the court, the words on Twitter toe a fine line and ended up crossing it for tons of fans on this occasion. Upsetting fans is obviously not desirable but it’s almost unavoidable. Taking Shanks’s job is arguably the bigger issue. Shanks made a mistake, upset numerous people, and apologized. The man didn’t know the potential for outrage, and has stated how he spent his time with the organization being praised for testing boundaries.
Comparing the situation to the sports world once more, Los Angeles Clippers role-player Matt Barnes made headlines recently for reportedly telling Rockets star guard James Harden’s mother to perform some explicit acts on him. Barnes directly addressed Harden’s mother, graphically and with hostility, in person. Barnes was fined $50,000 by the NBA, which equates to about four percent of Barnes’s total salary. Barnes was not released or suspended, but he has apologized both publicly and privately for whatever he said to Harden’s mother.
So, let’s break that down; Shanks tweeted a jab at the Mavericks with cartoon pictures after a win, upset a group of people, while not really bothering the target of ridicule, apologized, and lost his job. Barnes yelled explicit comments directly at Harden’s mother, offended Harden’s family as well as an outside group, apologized, and lost four percent of his annual base salary before the playoff bonuses and incentives.
At that point, does it not seem confusing that the public outcry has been seemingly stronger against a tweet? Shanks is thankfully not walking alone. He has received tons of support and goodwill from those who understood that the intent of the joke was not to offend. He was hired by ESPN’s Dan Lebatard to tweet for him on the Highly Questionable account for the biggest sports weekend in years, with the Kentucky Derby, NFL Draft, Mayweather-Pacquiao fight all taking place. Shanks cranked out quality tweets, and made some jokes at his personal expense along the way. If Chad Shanks can take himself lightly, the public should be able to take a tweet of his that didn’t last an hour on social media even lighter.
The image of the team can be directly connected to social media presence for large numbers of fans in such a technology-centered time. The Rockets had a mishap that led to negative press, but the people who allow a tweet from an employee of the Rockets to shape their opinion of the franchise weren’t really open to being fans anyway. This story can serve as a cautionary tale to anyone looking into a career that revolves around social media in a similar manner, but it also shows how impactful social media really can be.
I did my best to make the account the best in the NBA by pushing the envelope, but pushed too far for some and for that I apologize.
— Chad Shanks (@chadjshanks) April 29, 2015
Overall, the controversy has had a much stronger effect on Chad Shanks than the Houston Rockets. Fans addressed the Rockets as the voice behind the tweet for a very short time before singling Shanks out and throwing criticism his way.
NBA fans have put the story behind them through the aid of time and a bit of a nudge from Matt Barnes. Shanks’s future will be the aspect that could potentially be hit the hardest. While this misunderstanding has garnered him support and allowed him a platform to work for someone like Dan Lebatard under the ESPN umbrella, it also holds the potential to close doors in his face. The Houston Rockets have already found someone new to operate their Twitter account, and life goes on for the organization.
What happens next for Chad Shanks is much more uncertain than what happens to the Rockets and their Twitter operations, which is an unfair reality.