We all keep reading about incidents where prospective job applicants are being screened by employers using the applicants’ own Facebook pages. You remember that picture of you bonging a beer or taking off your top or just doing some random illegal act … well, it’s a big Internet, and more people can see those pictures than just your close friends.
But I had to scratch my head the other day when I read that the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles fired their “West Gate Chief,” Dan Leone, when he put up the following comment as his Facebook status:
“Dan is [expletive] devastated about Dawkins signing with Denver … Dam Eagles R Retarted!!”
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3965039
Brian Dawkins, you see, was a very popular player in Philly. And Philly loves its professional team. Eagles fans are some of the most passionate in the NFL.
So Leone, a lifelong Eagles fan who only worked part-time, had to be let go. Because he posted as his status that, “Dam Eagles R Retarded!!” Mind you, he apologized profusely, to no avail. It didn’t matter … the club tossed him out to the street.
First, it appears that the Eagles run a security apparatus on par with the KGB. Who sits around and reads its part-time employees’ Facebook statuses? I know it’s the off-season, but there must be SOMETHING to do around the stadium.
The only serious thing I can take from this is to lock down your Facebook profile. Don’t let anyone see anything on your page unless they are your friends … and don’t let just anyone be your friend.
But c’mon, Eagles management. Lighten up. Really.
Filed under: New media
