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.
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/lubchansky/status/1190333227577290758
https://twitter.com/fart/status/1190340459601641472
Less than an hour after the original tweet was published, Goldsher had deleted it and announced that an apology was incoming.
https://twitter.com/alangoldsher/status/1190339833643913221
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.”
https://twitter.com/alangoldsher/status/1190341197023322113
Goldsher even thanked the Twitter mob for showing him the way the “general public” feels.
https://twitter.com/alangoldsher/status/1190343441462562816
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.
https://twitter.com/barstoolnate/status/1190342781035778048
https://twitter.com/wahoopaulyc/status/1190347598495993858
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.
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.
