Houston Rockets Social Media Manager Fired For Mavs Tweet
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - After the Dallas Mavericks lost last night's first round playoff series to the Houston Rockets in Game 5, a tweet was sent from the Rockets official account.
It showed two emojis of a horse with a gun to its head saying, "Shhh. Just close your eyes. It will all be over soon."
The tweet outraged animal activists across the country, and by the next afternoon, Chad Shanks had posted on his personal Twitter account that he had lost his job as the Rockets' social media manager. He also apologized for the controversial tweet, which was removed from the Rockets' account.
I hope there's another organization out there in need of someone willing to take chances and create engaging social content. I hope.
— Chad Shanks (@chadjshanks) April 29, 2015
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
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
By the way, the Mavericks social media folks did respond to the tweet almost immediately after it was sent.
@HoustonRockets Not very classy but we still wish you guys the best of luck in the next round.
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) April 29, 2015