March 24, 2015

A Classy Response to a Classless Tweet

A baseball player from Bloomsburg University tweeted a shocking and unforgivable comment. The tweet was about Mo’ne Davis, the amazing young athlete who became an instant sensation during last year’s Little League World Series. In case you missed it:

Casselberry-Tweet-about-Mo'ne-Davis

If you didn’t know, one of our Aloysius Butler & Clark offices is located in Bloomsburg, PA. I couldn’t wrap my brain around why this local, college-aged gentleman was hatefully tweeting about a young girl, who is on top of her game and being celebrated for her incredible talent. I remain unaware of what would provoke such a reaction from anyone, but what this incident brings to light is the sorely-needed “lessons” on social media etiquette. I went home and showed this tweet to my 11-year-old son and started the conversation about social media etiquette and how once you post a singular comment, it’s out there for the entire world to see. I also explained how you could very easily hurt someone that you do not know and how he or she is affected by your choices even though you might not think it is a big deal. The biggest, and potentially the best, lesson to be learned is from Mo’ne Davis herself.

She emailed Bloomsburg University and requested this man be reinstated to the baseball team. She wrote, “We all make mistakes and deserve to be forgiven. I hope you will give him a second chance.” Bloomsburg University thanked Mo’ne and acknowledged her incredible maturity, but stuck to its decision. Unfortunately, due to this young man’s poor decision, his life will never be the same.

Mo’ne represents the type of humans we should all strive to be. Her heart and her spirit is clearly as big as her talent.

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