CNN Suspends Roland Martin for Beckham Super Bowl Ad Tweets
Roland Martin, long time CNN journalist and host of CNN's Washington Watch, has been suspended by the network for his offensive tweets during the Super Bowl.
CNN made a statement earlier this week saying, "Roland Martin's tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being."
Martin tweeted throughout the Super Bowl, commenting on both the game and the commercials. His controversial tweets were in reference to H&M's men's underwear ad, which featured David Beckham wearing nothing but underwear. Martin's tweets attacked men who potentially liked the ad. He tweeted that people should "smack the ish" out of men who liked the commercial. He also tweeted that real men would never buy underwear advertised by David Beckham.
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Martin did issue an apology following the backlash, writing, "Based on several tweets I made on my Twitter feed on Super Bowl Sunday yesterday, I have been accused by members of the LGBT community of being supportive of violence against gays and lesbians and bullying. That is furthest from the truth, and I sincerely regret any offence my words have caused."
He also attempted to explain his tweets, writing, "I often make jokes about soccer in the U.S., and my crack about David Beckham's commercial was related to that and not anyone's sexuality. To those who construed my comment as being anti-gay or homophobic or advancing violence, I'm truly sorry. I can certainly understand how someone could come to a different conclusion than the one I meant."
However, CNN has decided to take punitive action against Martin. It is unclear how long his suspension will last.
