Journalists Who Have Blocked You on Twitter (And Why)

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
26,993
Newton
So, I don't tweet much and when I tweet at all, I am usually very polite. But I just saw a tweet from @Chad Finn quoting John Tomase and noticed that Tomase has blocked me. Why? I have no idea -- I've never tweeted about Tomase or at him. I'm not that upset as I rarely read Tomase anyway. But it seemed ... odd.

I was blocked a few years ago by Nick Cafardo for replying to a Buster Olney tweet about how terrible Josh Hamilton was by saying "Don't tell Nick Cafardo -- he still thinks the Red Sox should have signed him to that contract." While he doubled down in his reply with something along the lines of "You bet I did!" he subsequently blocked me, which I found incredibly thin-skinned.

But even still, I get it. Good or bad, most sportswriters have to put up with a tremendous amount of abuse on Twitter that is totally out of bounds.

Anyway, it got me thinking: who has blocked you? Why did they do it? And, have there ever been writers who have blocked you for reasons you don't understand?
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
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Dec 7, 2008
11,304
You probably commented on something that he had liked or retweeted. Rich Cimini the terrible jets reporter blocked me and I definitely never tweeted at him, but probably commented on something a patriots reporter had tweeted about the jets.
 

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
There are services like Blocktogether that let you block a list of users that others have generated/curated. That’s often how users end up blocked by someone they’ve never interacted with. Blocking can be completely impersonal.

I have no doubt Cafardo did it personally, though.
 

johnmd20

mad dog
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Dec 30, 2003
61,996
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Brandel Chamblee, because he's a thin skinned douche who constantly rips professional golfers but can't handle any criticism when it's directed at him. Chamblee blocks almost everyone, though.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,537
I've been blocked by Cafardo (which is probably the correct thing for him to do) but for some reason I was blocked by comedian Jen Kirkman. I have no idea about the latter because I'm a fan of her stuff.
 

Merkle's Boner

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Apr 24, 2011
3,756
I’m actually surprised writers don’t block more people. It’s just not worth it, in my opinion, to directly deal with miserable wretches who believe it is their God-given right to bash you for how you do your job.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
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Apr 12, 2001
24,537
I’m actually surprised writers don’t block more people. It’s just not worth it, in my opinion, to directly deal with miserable wretches who believe it is their God-given right to bash you for how you do your job.
Agreed. I'd block so many people, they'd call me Lego.
 

NickEsasky

Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em
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Jul 24, 2001
9,190
I’m actually surprised writers don’t block more people. It’s just not worth it, in my opinion, to directly deal with miserable wretches who believe it is their God-given right to bash you for how you do your job.
I am not sure if you are calling out the irony here or being sincere? Maybe both?
 

nattysez

Member
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Sep 30, 2010
8,432
Bill Simmons blocked me years ago when I ripped him a few times for a particularly irritating Red Sox article. I was uncharitable but have no regrets -- his writing on the Red Sox became abominable post-2004.