I've been following this for the past couple of days.. I don't know if i believe him that his tweets were directed at soccer fans..

CNN Suspends Roland Martin

CNN has apparently caved in to pressure from gay groups by suspending political analyst Roland Martin for making a joke about British soccer star David Beckham.

A CNN spokeswoman confirmed the suspension with this statement issued today:

“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 came under attack from gay groups after tweeting a wisecrack about Beckham’s underwear commercial which aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl telecast on NBC.

Martin seemed to suggest in his tweet that his followers “smack the ish out of” any male Super Bowl fan who is “hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad.”

Martin added that “real bruhs” would not purchase underwear advertised by Beckham.

A network suspension is usually the first step towards a contract termination. Martin was a CNN political analyst for 4 years.

Source: Washington Post blog

banks said:

banks said:

Ignorant ass (Roland). Could've kept that shit to himself. I never liked him anyway.

Timmy84 said:

banks said:

Martin added that “real bruhs” would not purchase underwear advertised by Beckham.

I would think they would not care one way or another!

NDRU said:

banks said:

Martin added that “real bruhs” would not purchase underwear advertised by Beckham.

I would think they would not care one way or another!

Yeah and it's funny Roland even MENTIONED IT. What does that say about HIM?

banks said:

I don't know if i believe him that his tweets were directed at soccer fans..

I do.

And I think this whole ordeal is bullshit and unnecessary.

Timmy84 said:

NDRU said:

I would think they would not care one way or another!

Yeah and it's funny Roland even MENTIONED IT. What does that say about HIM?

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banks said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah and it's funny Roland even MENTIONED IT. What does that say about HIM?

Share

banks said:

Timmy84 said:

NDRU said:

I would think they would not care one way or another!

Yeah and it's funny Roland even MENTIONED IT. What does that say about HIM?

Share

Roland doth protest too much.

That's all I am saying

Coming from the man who is trying to bring the ascot back? Gurl just needs to come on out.

Honestly Im surprised that CNN actually did suspend him. I've only read bout the tweets on a couple of gay blogs and nothing mainstream untill CNN lowered the boom.

lazycrockett said:

Coming from the man who is trying to bring the ascot back? Gurl just needs to come on out.

Harlepolis said:

banks said:

I don't know if i believe him that his tweets were directed at soccer fans..

I do.

And I think this whole ordeal is bullshit and unnecessary.

I saw his tweets and I never saw him reference gay or any version of gay. People need to stop "looking" for things to complain about and be "obsessed" about. What Roland does on his off time is his business and newsflash .....straight dudes (most people) talk shit during sports and they direct it at the fans and players of other teams. Who gives a fuck that David Beckham has a clothing line at H&M and that Roland made a joke about it?

I say, and wholeheartedly believe, that Roland is being targeted because he is Black AND Straight AND works for a bitch ass network. If he were white and female and a correspondent for FOX and said the same thing, GLAAD wouldn't have done shit! They are exercising their mafia clout and showing everyone that they own CNN.

I feel bad for the guy that kidding around on twitter and poking fun at soccer has potentially gotten him fired. Maybe after this people will wake up and start exercising their freedom of speech. He should tell the network to fuck off and start up his own radio show or network. Personally I prefer watching him on TV One talking about REAL issues like the economy, national security, and the growing number of unemployed and hungry in America.

I don't. For some reason, Roland always rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know why but he just did. Again, he's the one saying "real bruhs wouldn't check for David Beckham in undies" but no "real bruh" would ever mention that shit on Twitter or in the barber shop. So SweetTooth Roland set himself up for that...

Timmy84 said:

I don't. For some reason, Roland always rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know why but he just did. Again, he's the one saying "real bruhs wouldn't check for David Beckham in undies" but no "real bruh" would ever mention that shit on Twitter or in the barber shop. So SweetTooth Roland set himself up for that...

U serious Timmy? There is so much stuff on twitter that people have taken it to be their own private water cooler. I've been to barber shops and have had men talk like I wasn't even there. People, when amongst what they deem as friends or like minded folk, say whatever they please.

I don't think Roland set himself up for anything. He was tweeting shit like 90% of people on twitter do and he was having fun and the mafia decided to shut him down but quite frankly i think they have always been gunning for him and anyone else who is an "easy" target. Its not like CNN ever really had Roland's back. They seemed to silence him when he brought up that image of Obama portrayed as a monkey by the Republicans.

Did you see Roland's wife's tweets? She called it a high tech lynching of an "uppity brother" and I have to agree with her. She started getting hate tweets and then her account was deleted.

If we live in a nation where people can't even joke about sports and advertisements, and that's what he did, then this nation is completely fucked and we deserve whatever ill fate befalls us.

No organization and no one person should be able to get someone fired over a damn tweet that had nothing to do with them and did not contain any, and I repeat, ANY offensive and/or explicit and/or racist-sexist language especially when the person making the comment was on their OWN TIME and on a social networking site where everyone else is talking shit.

HotGritz said:

Harlepolis said:

I do.

And I think this whole ordeal is bullshit and unnecessary.

I saw his tweets and I never saw him reference gay or any version of gay. People need to stop "looking" for things to complain about and be "obsessed" about. What Roland does on his off time is his business and newsflash .....straight dudes (most people) talk shit during sports and they direct it at the fans and players of other teams. Who gives a fuck that David Beckham has a clothing line at H&M and that Roland made a joke about it?

I say, and wholeheartedly believe, that Roland is being targeted because he is Black AND Straight AND works for a bitch ass network. If he were white and female and a correspondent for FOX and said the same thing, GLAAD wouldn't have done shit! They are exercising their mafia clout and showing everyone that they own CNN.

I feel bad for the guy that kidding around on twitter and poking fun at soccer has potentially gotten him fired. Maybe after this people will wake up and start exercising their freedom of speech. He should tell the network to fuck off and start up his own radio show or network. Personally I prefer watching him on TV One talking about REAL issues like the economy, national security, and the growing number of unemployed and hungry in America.

Really? I don't. He's paid for his comments. He should know better than to Tweet stupid stuff. Guess he understands, finally, that commentators are never off the clock, when it comes to their brand.

^ Yep. You think you can say anything on Facebook or Twitter and not have someone giving you the side eye and get you in trouble?

Please believe it, these social networking sites are being WATCHED. One of the YouTubers I sometimes watch has said this. I can't excuse Roland for "speaking his mind" because people will take it anyway they can.

You have to watch what you say sometimes... that's reality.

Pomade said:

HotGritz said:

I saw his tweets and I never saw him reference gay or any version of gay. People need to stop "looking" for things to complain about and be "obsessed" about. What Roland does on his off time is his business and newsflash .....straight dudes (most people) talk shit during sports and they direct it at the fans and players of other teams. Who gives a fuck that David Beckham has a clothing line at H&M and that Roland made a joke about it?

I say, and wholeheartedly believe, that Roland is being targeted because he is Black AND Straight AND works for a bitch ass network. If he were white and female and a correspondent for FOX and said the same thing, GLAAD wouldn't have done shit! They are exercising their mafia clout and showing everyone that they own CNN.

I feel bad for the guy that kidding around on twitter and poking fun at soccer has potentially gotten him fired. Maybe after this people will wake up and start exercising their freedom of speech. He should tell the network to fuck off and start up his own radio show or network. Personally I prefer watching him on TV One talking about REAL issues like the economy, national security, and the growing number of unemployed and hungry in America.

Really? I don't. He's paid for his comments. He should know better than to Tweet stupid stuff. Guess he understands, finally, that commentators are never off the clock, when it comes to their brand.

Who's brand? Roland will continue to work just not with CNN apparently and trust....CNN has no brand whatsoever. Its FOX and NBC all the way. CNN lost their shine a long time ago. They're like the Katie Couric of news. Roland will do what Keith Oberman did, he will get his own show on another network and he will be quite fine because his fans are loyal to him just as Oberman's fans are loyal.

And who gets to decide what qualifies as a stupid tweet? Was it worth firing somebody over? Are the gays that in love with David Beckham's $10 v-neck tees?

Like I said, they were gunning for him and are just exercising their power or rather abusing their power. They are trying to be attack dogs on freedom of speech and it will eventually backfire. One day they will fuck with the wrong person, probably somebody more famous with a grater legion of fans.

Lord help them if they ever mess with the Beiber.

Timmy84 said:

^ Yep. You think you can say anything on Facebook or Twitter and not have someone giving you the side eye and get you in trouble?

Please believe it, these social networking sites are being WATCHED. One of the YouTubers I sometimes watch has said this. I can't excuse Roland for "speaking his mind" because people will take it anyway they can.

You have to watch what you say sometimes... that's reality.

People should watch what they say for their own conscience. Nobody should lose their job over something that is not serious and does not violate any law. GLAAD immediately demanded Roland be fired because why? He didn't bow down and kiss ass and say "yes massa, i sho nuff spoke da wrong thing and Iz sorreeee".

He actually stated that he was mocking soccer fans as the commercial aired during the superbowl and featured Beckham who is a soccer player. Americans don't consider soccer to be football or even at the same level as football. If you follow Martin, he always tweets jokes during sporting events and he takes jabs at opposing teams and their fans. Even when he apologized for any misunderstanding, GLAAD still demanded his firing.

Shit, now Im hoping Roland switches fields and works for the conservative stations. They say what they want and nobody gets fired. I hear FOX pays more too.

HotGritz said:

Pomade said:

Really? I don't. He's paid for his comments. He should know better than to Tweet stupid stuff. Guess he understands, finally, that commentators are never off the clock, when it comes to their brand.

Who's brand? Roland will continue to work just not with CNN apparently and trust....CNN has no brand whatsoever. Its FOX and NBC all the way. CNN lost their shine a long time ago. They're like the Katie Couric of news. Roland will do what Keith Oberman did, he will get his own show on another network and he will be quite fine because his fans are loyal to him just as Oberman's fans are loyal.

And who gets to decide what qualifies as a stupid tweet? Was it worth firing somebody over? Are the gays that in love with David Beckham's $10 v-neck tees?

Like I said, they were gunning for him and are just exercising their power or rather abusing their power. They are trying to be attack dogs on freedom of speech and it will eventually backfire. One day they will fuck with the wrong person, probably somebody more famous with a grater legion of fans.

Lord help them if they ever mess with the Beiber.

I don't get the Beiber mention.

But think about the number of situations in recent years involving black men saying something stupid about homosexuality. Now, consider how that gets amplified when the person spouting off about it is someone who gets paid for his commentary. If his Tweets' context has been hijacked by GLAAD, it's all the worse.

I think this Huffington Post piece provides perhaps the best commentary on this saga I've seen.

CNN Slaps the "Ish' out o... Martin...

Nothing like a sporting event to make a man talk stupid shit to make himself good in front of a bunch of idiots. Suits the hell out of me though because I like for folks to be able to say whatever they want to so I can see what they're really like so I won't be wasting my time liking wolves in sheep's clothing.

I don't see the comment as triggering violence towards other people but if someone does get the shit smacked out of them for getting excited about a men's underwear ad, then I encourage the person that got smacked to pick up the biggest thing they can find and beat the smacker's ass unconscious and spit on him afterwards.

Pomade said:

HotGritz said:

Who's brand? Roland will continue to work just not with CNN apparently and trust....CNN has no brand whatsoever. Its FOX and NBC all the way. CNN lost their shine a long time ago. They're like the Katie Couric of news. Roland will do what Keith Oberman did, he will get his own show on another network and he will be quite fine because his fans are loyal to him just as Oberman's fans are loyal.

And who gets to decide what qualifies as a stupid tweet? Was it worth firing somebody over? Are the gays that in love with David Beckham's $10 v-neck tees?

Like I said, they were gunning for him and are just exercising their power or rather abusing their power. They are trying to be attack dogs on freedom of speech and it will eventually backfire. One day they will fuck with the wrong person, probably somebody more famous with a grater legion of fans.

Lord help them if they ever mess with the Beiber.

I don't get the Beiber mention.

But think about the number of situations in recent years involving black men saying something stupid about homosexuality. Now, consider how that gets amplified when the person spouting off about it is someone who gets paid for his commentary. If his Tweets' context has been hijacked by GLAAD, it's all the worse.

I think this Huffington Post piece provides perhaps the best commentary on this saga I've seen.

CNN Slaps the "Ish' out o... Martin...

This is my point. Roland did not mention in any way, shape, or form homosexuality. What has happened is that GLAAD and their elite members have made their interpretations of other people's comments the rule by which everyone must behave, speak and think. I say fuck them! If I say fuck men who wear skinny jeans and they come for me I'm ready and will happily embrace the new followers. They won't though, because I'm not a celebrity whom people watch and adore.

Speaking of.....I mentioned Beiber because this dude has millions upon millions of fans and they are die hard and hard core. I've personally been cussed out for saying he has a girl hair style (before he cut it) and on the flip side, when I mentioned liking one of his songs and posting the YT link, I got a dozen new followers in the span of 2 mintues.

Remember that woman that claimed she had his baby? Some of his fans sent her death threats via twitter. He is just not somebody I recommend pissing off because his fans are...well....pyscho.

HotGritz said:

Pomade said:

I don't get the Beiber mention.

But think about the number of situations in recent years involving black men saying something stupid about homosexuality. Now, consider how that gets amplified when the person spouting off about it is someone who gets paid for his commentary. If his Tweets' context has been hijacked by GLAAD, it's all the worse.

I think this Huffington Post piece provides perhaps the best commentary on this saga I've seen.

CNN Slaps the "Ish' out o... Martin...

This is my point. Roland did not mention in any way, shape, or form homosexuality. What has happened is that GLAAD and their elite members have made their interpretations of other people's comments the rule by which everyone must behave, speak and think. I say fuck them! If I say fuck men who wear skinny jeans and they come for me I'm ready and will happily embrace the new followers. They won't though, because I'm not a celebrity whom people watch and adore.

Speaking of.....I mentioned Beiber because this dude has millions upon millions of fans and they are die hard and hard core. I've personally been cussed out for saying he has a girl hair style (before he cut it) and on the flip side, when I mentioned liking one of his songs and posting the YT link, I got a dozen new followers in the span of 2 mintues.

Remember that woman that claimed she had his baby? Some of his fans sent her death threats via twitter. He is just not somebody I recommend pissing off because his fans are...well....pyscho.

I think you're splitting hairs here. I think, if a white commentator said something like: "(pick a random Hollywood starlet) needs to stop letting her skin get so brown and her hair get so curly," the NAACP would scream that he was being racist. He wouldn't have uttered the words "black people are unattractive," but the implication would have been clear enough.

Roland Martin is in hot water because he's basically saying sissy behavior deserves a beatdown. I think GLAAD and other people have a right to take him to task for that, especially when you consider the violence that still occurs against gay people.