Professional sports coaches get fired all the time, and generally adhere to a pretty standard set of protocols immediately after termination: Keep a low profile, don't say anything too provocative, then maybe reveal more publicly much later on after media attention has died down.
But thanks to social media, ticked-off family members of deposed coaches have free reign -- and ample audience -- to say whatever they want.
That's exactly what happened with young Avery Johnson Jr. on Twitter Thursday morning after his father was fired as coach of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. The Nets cut the elder Johnson loose after the team struggled in December, despite the fact that he was named the league's coach of the month in November.
Soon after the news broke on Twitter, Johnson Jr., a high school junior, tweeted and retweeted a series of messages blasting the team for firing his father. His posts gained thousands of retweets combined and quickly spread throughout the online sports media world.
This is a fuxking Outrage. My dad is a great coach, he just got coach of the month and they Fire him. #Smh. Completely new team he had.— Avery Johnson Jr. (@itsaveryjohnson) December 27, 2012
The expectations were way to high for this team. We didn't even have a losing record.... Didn't even give my dad a full season. #OUTRAGE— Avery Johnson Jr. (@itsaveryjohnson) December 27, 2012
Many speculated that Nets star Deron Williams, who has a history of clashing with coaches and is shooting under 40% this season, was the driving force behind Johnson's firing. Johnson Jr. appeared to take a veiled shot at Williams and retweeted another posting blaming him directly for Johnson's untimely exit:
I'm sorry are best players couldn't make open shots. Yeah that's my dads fault totally...— Avery Johnson Jr. (@itsaveryjohnson) December 27, 2012
@javi_n_misa @nanumanu @edgedout @itsaveryjohnson That's crap. AJ deserves better. Deron Williams strikes again. #ajcomebackhome— Gus (@DoubleG79) December 27, 2012
Some probably consider Johnson Jr.'s tweets a public relations fumble, while others likely consider them a refreshingly candid reaction to major sports news. But above all, they're just another through-the-looking glass social media moment, in which Twitter reveals the raw human emotion behind news stories that seem abstract to the masses and impact more people than most of us imagine.
Do you think Johnson Jr.'s tweets are something he should have shared on social media? Give us your take in the comments.