Ex-Houston Rockets Twitter guy explains controversial dead horse tweet

In the span of less than 24 hours, Chad Shanks went from being the Digital Communications Manager for the Houston Rockets to the former Digitial Communications Manager for the Rockets, and it’s all due to a controversial tweet he sent.

After the Rockets beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5, Shanks sent a tweet showing a gun emoji shooting a horse emoji along with the words, “it will all be over soon.”

Though some enjoyed the tweet, many were offended by it. The Rockets deleted the tweet, apologized for it and fired Shanks.

On Wednesday, Shanks joined Jason Smith on “Jay Mohr Sport” on FOX Sports Radio to address the tweet and his job status. Here’s how their exchange went.

Smith: “Regarding your controversial tweet, I think without (including) the emojis, everything would have been ok.”

Shanks: “Yeah, but then it wouldn’t have been the tweet I was going for, which isn’t justifying it. I tried to engage our fans and make something that poked at the Mavs, who we’ve had a little back and forth with this series and this season. I just didn’t think it through how some people might perceive it. I tried to be funny and engaging, and it just kind of failed ethically and I paid the price for it.”

Smith: “Did you have any indecision about sending the tweet?”

Chad: “No. It was in the heat of the moment. We pretty much had clinched the game and the idea just popped in my head. I showed it to a guy who used to work for me. He didn’t think anything bad of it and I went with it. Then five minutes later I was getting a talking to (by management).”

Smith: “Do you think you were more wrong or the Rockets took it a little bit more seriously than they should have?”

Chad: “I don’t have any hard feelings towards the Rockets. They gave me an amazing, amazing job that I loved every minute of. It was something I shouldn’t have done. We’ve kind of made a name for ourselves among the twitter team accounts as being a little more edgy and trying to be not so bland, a little more engaging. And when you take risks like that, some of them don’t always pan out. I wasn’t trying to offend anyone, except I was just trying to poke at the Mavs a little bit, but I definitely wasn’t trying to advocate violence for animals or anything like that. I understand how some people took it that way and I am very sorry for that. I wasn’t trying to upset anyone but Mavericks fans. The Rockets had to do what they thought was in their best interest. I have no ill feelings towards them at all….I’m sorry it ended this way, but the outpouring and support that I’ve gotten from everyone online has been incredible. I didn’t really know that many people really paid attention to and cared what I did. It’s been kind of a crazy day.”

Smith: “How did the firing come down?”

Shanks: “I had a meeting with my immediate supervisor last night and they expressed that they weren’t super happy with it. Then they met with the CEO of the company and they made the decision that they had to cut ties. They brought me up to HR and informed me of the decision. They were very professional about it. They explained their reasoning behind it. I wish it would have been another form of punishment, but I did love working there. It is what it is. I’m gonna try to make the best of it. I hope someone out there likes what I did for the Rockets account and wants to bring me on if you don’t mind me shamelessly shilling for a job on the day I got very publicly fired.”

That’s quite a legacy to hold for Shanks — being the guy known for sending the dead horse tweet with the Houston Rockets. Regarding his unemployment, I’ll use his words and turn it into something comforting. “It will all be over soon.” You’ll get a job again, Shanks, and next time around you’ll be more conscious of pushing the limits.