Hey! Let’s make a big deal out of this, everyone! The Pirates fired a racing Pierogi for writing disparaging things about the team on his Facebook page! Is this Pittsburgh or Nazi Germany, amirite?
“My son always was a big Pirates fan,” said his mother, Mary Kurtz. “He took pride in being a pierogi runner. Since when, in this country, are you not allowed to state an opinion? Well, here is my opinion: The Pirates came through again and let go one of their biggest fans and dedicated workers.”
Yeah, I’m sorry, this is not a big deal nor should it be surprising to anyone. Freedom of speech means the government can’t go around impinging on what people have the right to say, but that doesn’t apply to private companies. There are plenty of companies in this country that would fire someone for the comments this kid made on his Facebook page (which basically said that the Pirates were screwed for the forseeable future by extending Huntington and Russell). Hell, the Eagles fired an employee within the last two years for ripping the team on his Facebook page when they released Brian Dawkins. This is not a story or an embarrassment or a sign that the club hates its fans; this is what happens when people don’t think before using the internent.
UPDATE: And let me add that I’m pissed at the Post-Gazette for playing this for shock value and pandering to angry Pirate fans. That quote they ran from the ex-Pierogi’s mom was fourth paragraph and the third full paragraph. The team’s response wasn printed in the 18th paragraph:
Pirates spokesman Brian Warecki on Friday night said, “While we cannot discuss the specifics of the dismissal, we can say that a part-time employee serving a suspension for a previous violation of company policy was terminated for committing yet another violation of company policy.”
