Before I get into details, let me be very clear right up front: I did something really stupid on my personal Facebook page the other night, and I’m sorry.
The worst thing about social media is that it anesthetizes us to our own stupidity. We get so used to using various social media platforms to say whatever pops into our heads that we don’t stop to think about it. A fleeting thought that comes and goes like the wind in your brain becomes a permanent, and very visible, definition of who you are in the eyes of others.
Long story short: I messed up, and I’m sorry.
I got into the habit of posting on Facebook a picture at every event I covered to let people back home know what I was up to, showing them that I was enjoying my job despite the fact it might not seem glamorous or exciting to them. So this night I snapped a bad picture and posted it, relaying in rather inelegant fashion that I was told by a friend the teams I would be watching weren’t very good.
Not realizing the post would be seen by anyone other than a few dozen people more than a thousand miles away is no excuse. I shouldn’t have written it, and I’m sorry.
A few months ago, wanting a specific post to be seen by other people, I changed the setting to “public.” I never changed it back.
That, too, is no excuse. I shouldn’t have written it, and I’m sorry.
But I don’t just feel bad for the players, parents and coaches who were upset, I also feel bad for the Dispatch. Just because it was on my personal Facebook page doesn’t change the fact that I represent this newspaper, and I have never been more proud to work for anyone in my life. To do something that would cause publisher Peter Imes and managing editor Zack Plair even a moment of trouble was extremely upsetting.
Worse still is that people who saw that post won’t care about the stories about the games that chronicled the home teams’ wins and the performance of a terrific player on a losing team. No, they will remember that post, and while I can deal with the fact I’ll be judged on that post and not my work by some people for a while, it is not right to draw attention, intentionally or otherwise, away from the accomplishments of those kids I enjoyed watching.
I shouldn’t have written it, and I’m sorry.
Let me be very clear here: This is not one of those “I’m sorry if you were offended” apologies. Anyone connected to those four teams who saw it should have been offended.
Separating the personal from the professional is fine in performance reviews and job interviews, but this is real life. Like it or not, it’s all mixed together, and everything from long-held beliefs to fleeting thoughts put online is out there in plain view. I should have known that.
I’ve learned several things over the past couple of days, but by far the most significant is just to think about the effect words can have on people. Not just the ones you get paid to write, but all of them. One person’s casual remark can be taken to heart by others; one person’s carefully thought-out remarks can be dismissed by others. Make them all count, because you never know.
So, one more time: No excuses. It was wrong to post that. And I’m sorry.
Tom Rysinskiis the sports editor of the Commercial Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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