Washington Post faces flak for suspending reporter after Bryant tweet

Jan 29, 2020 15:05 IST

The Washington Post came under fire on Monday for its decision to suspend a reporter, a day after she tweeted about the rape case against Kobe Bryant, hours after the former basketball star and his daughter died in a helicopter crash.
Felicia Sonmez had posted a link to a 2016 article about sexual assault allegations against Kobe, following which she got death threats and eventually deleted the tweets. Washington post then placed her on administrative leave. Washington Post managing editor said the reporter's tweets 'displayed poor judgement that undermined the work of her colleagues'.
Washington Post employees have condemned the paper for her suspension. The Washington Post Guild told editors that 'instead of protecting and supporting a reporter in the face of abuse, she was placed on leave. The statement called the paper's social media guidelines 'vague and inconsistently enforced'.