Roland Martin Suspended by CNN Over ‘Offensive’ Tweets - East Idaho News
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Roland Martin Suspended by CNN Over ‘Offensive’ Tweets

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GETTY N 020812 RolandMartin?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1328744750960Joe Kohen/WireImage/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — CNN has smacked the “ish” out of Roland Martin.

The commentator has been suspended indefinitely for tweets he sent during Sunday’s Super Bowl that were criticized as being anti-gay, according to a statement released Wednesday. One tweet said, “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”

“Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive,” CNN’s statement reportedly said. “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.”

“CNN today took a strong stand against anti-LGBT violence and language that demeans any community,” said Rich Ferraro, a spokesperson for the gay rights organization GLAAD. “Yesterday, Martin also spoke out against anti-LGBT violence. We look forward to hearing from CNN and Roland Martin to discuss how we can work together as allies and achieve our common goal of reducing anti-LGBT violence as well as the language that contributes to it.”

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