On its mission to be the first NFL team to 1 million Twitter followers Thursday, the New England Patriots experienced a jaw-dropping fumble.
While the team thanked fans for their support, there was one racist account that shouldn't have been included in the gratitude fest.
After removing the tweet, which thanked @IHATENIGGERSS for following the team and included a Patriots blazer with the handle emblazoned on the back, the Patriots apologized for the "regrettable" tweet.
We apologize for the regrettable tweet that went out from our account. Our filtering system failed & we will be more vigilant in the future.— New England Patriots (@Patriots) Nov 13 2014
The team blamed the oversight on a malfunction with its "filtering system", which makes it seem that the personal thank you notes sent to fans were automated responses. The team did not return a request for clarification on this point.
While many Patriots fans gloated about the team's one-million-follower win, that didn't stop critics from blasting the mistake on Twitter.
Why you should always have someone screen your auto-replies. Oof. #1MillionPatriots @Patriots h/t @nightafternight pic.twitter.com/u262bXZ6JA— Michael A. Brodeur (@MBrodeur) November 14, 2014
Absolutely one of the biggest social media blunders we've ever seen. Way to go @Patriots. #1MillionPatriots pic.twitter.com/wyBSB1IsGh— The Roosevelts (@RSVLTS) November 14, 2014
Job opening. RT@Deadspin: The Patriots social media department sure didn't think this one through: http://t.co/x9DpCJ37ch— John Dabkovich (@JohnDabkovich) November 14, 2014