Roland Martin on Wednesday was
suspended by CNN over a tweet directed at gay fans of David Beckham.
Referring to an H&M commercial
featuring soccer star David Beckham modeling his line of underwear
which aired during Sunday's Super Bowl, Martin tweeted: “If a dude
at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M
underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!”
Media advocacy and anti-defamation
group the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
called on CNN to fire Martin.
Martin apologized for his remarks on
Monday, saying he could understand how someone could misconstrue his
comment as being “anti-gay or homophobic or advancing violence.”
“While public debate over social
issues is healthy, no matter which side someone takes, there is no
room for debate as to whether we need to be respectful of others.
Violence against gay people or against any other minority isn't a
political opinion,” he said.
But the apology failed to avert action
from CNN.
“Roland Martin's tweets were
regrettable and offensive,” the network said in a statement.
“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.”