After a turbulent week which resulted in all of sports website Deadspin’s writers quitting because they refused to only write about sports, the site has been hit with yet another setback. A new contributor, whose first post was published after all of Deadspin’s previous staff writers had resigned, has also been pressured into quitting by Twitter users.
Earlier today, freelance writer and musician Alan Goldsher announced his debut for Deadspin in a now-deleted tweet.
https://twitter.com/tjcavs_/status/1190340311173742593
Within minutes of making the announcement, the replies to the tweet were filled with Twitter users accusing him of being a “scab” (a term used to describe people who cross a strikers’ picket and go to work in place of strikers).
https://twitter.com/ma5terblast3r/status/1190335755736014850
Less than an hour after the original tweet was published, Goldsher had deleted it and announced that an apology was incoming.
In his apology thread, Goldsher then announced that his first Deadspin post would be his last and that he was out. He added: “I appreciate that I was pointed in the right direction.”
Goldsher even thanked the Twitter mob for showing him the way the “general public” feels.
Several Twitter users highlighted that “Twitter isn’t real life” and questioned Goldsher’s decision to turn down a paycheck after being targeted by an angry Twitter users.
Others said they felt bad for Goldsher and criticized the Twitter brigade for bullying him out of a job where he was “excited to write about sports…on a sports website…where the writers voluntarily quit” and where Goldsher had nothing to do with them quitting.
https://twitter.com/run_grp/status/1190346156783607809
The incident caps a bizarre week for Deadspin where not only do its former staff writers object to being told to stick to sports on a sports website but some Twitter users also object to the company using the work of writers that are happy to stick to this mandate.
