The Absurdity Of The Houston Rockets Twitter Controversy

ByChris Spisak|Apr 30, 2015, 7:04 PM EDT

To quote the immortal Sergeant Hulka from Ivan Reitman’s 1982 classic comedy,Stripes: “Lighten up, Francis.”

It’s a fact of life. If a horse is unlikely to survive a severe injury or illness and no other option exists to relieve its suffering, it gets put down. It happens all the time, and in most circles, it’s considered the humane thing to do.

So as theHouston Rocketsclosed in on the completion of their4-1 beatdown of the Dallas Mavericksin the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs on Tuesday night, Houston’s (now former) social media managerChad Shankssent out the following tweet from the officialHouston Rockets Twitteraccount:

Cue the righteous indignation.

Social media was littered with all manner of temper tantrums and sanctimonious bellyaching about the “offensive” nature of the tweet; a tweet that featured anemojiof a horse with anemojiof a gun pointed at it.

The result? Shanks was unceremoniously fired on Wednesday and the Rockets tweeted an apology to the Mavericks and their fans.

Most of us who follow our favorite franchise’s social media accounts know that they’re usually about as riveting as atraining camp interview with Arian Foster. Shanks’ quip was a perfect example of what had made the Rockets’ Twitter account so popular amongst fans in the first place: it was witty, edgy, and most of all, it was a perfect illustration of what was happening at the time.

The Mavericks, unlikely to survive much longer after being crippled beyond repair by Chandler Parsons’ season-ending knee injury and Rajon Rondo’s quitting on the team earlier in the series, were about to be put down for good.

Unfortunately for Shanks and those who enjoyed what he brought to the job, the backlash from a butt-hurt contingent of huffy Dallas fans (and, perhaps more surprisingly,employees) quickly turned a playful jab at an opponent to a commentary on Houston’s lack of class as an organization.

@HoustonRocketsNot very classy but we still wish you guys the best of luck in the next round.
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs)April 29, 2015

Leading the charge of the patently self-righteous mob of easily offended grumps was Dallas Mavericks radio play-by-play announcerChuck Cooperstein, who took to Twitter to take a few personal pot shots at both Shanks and the Rockets organization.

.@AminESPN@chadjshanks @letstelllizelleIf you have someone with ridiculously bad judgment? Yes. No need for slime at the inn
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs)April 29, 2015

.@AminESPN We're all entitled to mistakes, I've made plenty. I don't know Chad. But win with some style and class. Be better than a fanboy
— Chuck Cooperstein (@coopmavs)April 29, 2015

Apparently Cooperstein’s idea of “class” is referring to a member of another organization as “slime” and a “fanboy” while perched atop his high horse of political correctness.

Some simpletons have gone so far as to suggest the tweet was somehow a reference to former Texas gubernatorial candidateClayton Williams’ notoriously shameful remarkabout rape victims.

@AminESPN@coopmavsHe made a rape joke on employer's official twitter.. Dunno y u feel need 2 defend a complete moron than failed PR 101.
— Royce Eugene (@RoycEugene)April 29, 2015

If you’re wondering how on earth a tweet from a sports franchise’s social media account about the impending end of a playoff series is somehow akin to some wack job politician’s ignorant remarks about rape, well…you’re not alone.

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