Keith Olbermann Is Suspended For Tweet War, But Why Did He Go After PSU In The First Place?

If you follow Keith Olbermann on ESPN you know that it’s not a matter of when he loses his temper, but how much. His recent heated exchange with Penn State University students and alums on Twitter has resulted in his suspension from ESPN for the remainder of the week, according to the New York Times.

The drama began when a Penn State alum tweeted a link at Olbermann, with the words “We Are!” and a link to an article about the money raised for charity by PSU. The tweets Olbermann made in response seem to indicate that he didn’t click on the link. He responded with the word “pitiful?” From there, as PSU followers began to question him as to why he thought it was pitiful that students were raising money for a charity to benefit kids with cancer, Olbermann said he didn’t know what charity they were talking about, and critiqued their grammar and spelling.

Ultimately, ESPN suspended him, Olbermann apologized, and the “pitiful” tweet has now been deleted, though screenshots are available in various places, such as the NY Post.

Inquisitr initially questioned why Olbermann was engaged in this feud with PSU, but it seems fairly obvious that Olbermann remains—understandably—concerned and upset about Penn State’s treatment of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Just last month, Olbermann called Penn State and the NCAA the worst in sports, saying that their legacy would be that.

“Football was more important to them than saving children.”

So while it seems like Olbermann’s angry tweets came out of left field, some fans have understood his ongoing anger with the school, though others have suggested it was inappropriate to blame the entire school for something that just a few people were involved in.

And why did Lisa Aiello DeLeon tweet at Olbermann in the first place, knowing of his distaste for the school? She told Slate

“I certainly didn’t send my tweet to him in the hopes of getting him suspended. I sent it to educate him in hopes he would recognize the good that Penn State does and has done, and in hope that he might lighten up on us a bit in the future.”

Social media, as usual, seems fairly divided about the subject of Olbermann’s suspension.

@livenewscloud @cheezwitham @KeithOlbermann The man does have a way of irritating folk. It is ashame but then again he speaks out truth.

— CarmanK (@CarmanK1) February 25, 2015

@KeithOlbermann I adore you for speaking truth.

— Diane E Poland (@DEPoland) February 25, 2015

What do you think of Keith Olbermann’s suspension? Do you think it will change things for him?

[Image by Frederick M Brown/Getty Images]