A Tweet Meant as Encouragement Becomes the Subject of Controversy
Image Credit: Fox 5 New York
Every year on the third Monday of January, the US (and to an extent Canada) celebrates Martin Luther King Jr, a man who famously spoke out against prejudice, discrimination, and dreamed of a world where people would not be judged by the colour of their skin, but rather the content of their character. His inspiration radiates on most sports franchises in North America, many of which making tweet statements celebrating the holiday. The Toronto Raptors were one of such teams.
The day started out rather normal and expected with the team putting out a tweet commemorating this occasion.
It was one of those 4 cropped image’s post where when expanded, the reveal other pictures among the top and bottom, in this tweets case they used King Jr. giving a speech as the uncropped part. It unintentionally looks like a crosshair reticle being pointed right at his head. As most of us know, MLK’s death and assassination came through the form of a shooting via sniper rifle. So yeah, this was possibly the biggest mistake you could possibly make if you were the Raptors Twitter/X account, something that could have easily been avoided if they didn’t try to do a gimmick and just posted a singular photo. The absolute definition of a “you had one job” moment. It wasn’t quick for Raptors fans and the internet to take notice before the Tweet would be deleted an hour or so later, probably for the best.
The result tonight won’t help the Raptors in their attempt to get a play-in or playoff spot, some Raptors fans will be preoccupied with what was an absolutely baffling misfire by the Raptors’ social media team.