NFL Twitter Account Hacked, Announces Goodell Death
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DALLAS (105.3 THE FAN) - No one is safe when it comes to having their social media accounts hacked, not even the world most recognizable billion-dollar brand - the NFL.
Comedians have a saying: "Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.''
We saw this in action today as the NFL's official Twitter account was hacked with a bogus announcement - and a clumsy try at humor — stating that Commissioner Roger Goodell had died.
The fake tweet read, "We regret to inform our fans that our commissioner, Roger Goodell, has passed away. He was 57. #RIP."
Listen, even in this era of "political correctness'' (or just plain "correctness,'' which I am in favor of) there are no sacred cows in comedy. Funny is funny.
But hacking a website to announce the death of a person doesn't take great technological skill and it takes zero comedic skill. It's foolish, mindless, purposeless.
Goodall is, of course, alive and well, and deserving of criticism, analysis and even skillful satiric pokes. (And the NFL Twitter account is in need of a new password, given that the intruder added two more tweets — "Oi, I said Roger Goodell has died. Don't delete that tweet'' and "OK, OK, you amateur detectives win. Good job'' before the league finally wrestled back control of an account with 19 million followers).
In search of credit, the perpetrator has identified himself. But he won't be identified in this space. And why not? Because making jokes about people dying is easy. But making jokes about people dying that are actually funny is hard … and comedians should only get credit under one circumstance:
When they are funny.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
