Veteran NBA reporter Chris Palmer was called out on Twitter for a pair of tweets he sent within the span of a few days.
Palmer was offering his thoughts on the protests across the United States in the wake of George Floyd's death. On Thursday night, Palmer quote-tweeted a photo of a burning building with the caption, "Burn that s— down. Burn it all down." But shortly after midnight on Sunday, Palmer had a change of tone once protesters showed up closer to where he lived.
The apparent hypocrisy was not lost on Twitter.
Oops pic.twitter.com/cUAYD5BIYj
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) May 31, 2020
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The photo of a burning building was, according to the Star Tribune, an affordable housing development under construction. The complex had 189 units and was expected to open later this year.
Palmer did delete the first tweet where he said to "burn that s— down," but his tweets since have defended his stance from the second tweet. When one Twitter user called him out the opposing language in his two tweets, he responded in part, "don't talk to me about what you don't know."
I took rubber bullets and tear gas yesterday standing on the front lines. I risked my life trying to get pictures and video. Don't talk to me about what you don't know about little girl. https://t.co/Giwae59OB7
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) May 31, 2020
In another response, he willingly admitted that he's free to change his stance.
You better damn well believe I can.
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) May 31, 2020
Palmer, who worked at ESPN for 14 years and Bleacher Report for two years, offered some additional thoughts on the situation. He tweeted, "Tear up your own s—. Don't come to where we live at and tear our neighborhood up. We care about our community. If you don't care about yours I don't give a s—."
Welp. They're gone. Security called the cops and they swarmed. Some scattered, others were arrested. (You hate to see it.) Tense moments. There's graffiti everywhere. We live in a beautiful, safe community and have pride. These people had no pride and weren't protesters.
— Chris Martin Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) May 31, 2020
UPDATE: Palmer had a direct response to the criticism he faced with a pair of statements.
"A couple of nights ago I [retweeted] a picture of a burning building in [Minnesota]," Palmer tweeted. "I did not know it was low income housing for many. That was my mistake. I do not endorse property destruction of any kind. Real protestors don’t loot. Peaceful protest is the only way. Be safe. God Bless.
"Got hit with rubber bullets, tear gas and rocks. Yet both the left and right are mad at me. You just can't win anymore.
"Obviously, I didn’t choose the right words. It was a crazy weekend. Lots of stress and panic. Tear gas is a mother. I don’t endorse property destruction in any form. I’m not perfect. But I will work at it. Be well. Take care."
