CNN Suspends Roland Martin for 'Offensive' Tweets

CNN has decided not to let journalist and contributor Roland Martin appear on the air "for the time being" after he came under fire from gay rights groups for tweeting about David Beckham's underwear commercial which aired at the Super Bowl, reports The Washington Post's Erik Wemple.

CNN has decided not to let journalist and contributor Roland Martin appear on the air "for the time being" after he came under fire from gay rights groups for tweeting about David Beckham's underwear commercial which aired at the Super Bowl, reports The Washington Post's Erik Wemple.

Martin tweeted, "If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!" He later said his comments were intended only to poke fun at soccer fans not at men attracted to Beckham, but GLAAD and others characterized the tweets as advocating violence against gays. CNN's statement, per Wemple:

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.

Looks like the network didn't buy his "soccer-phobic" explanation either.