BURRISS: Tackled cheerleader muzzled by Dallas Cowboys on The Murfreesboro Post

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BURRISS: Tackled cheerleader muzzled by Dallas Cowboys

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By: LARRY BURRISS, Post Columnist

Posted: Thursday, December 1, 2011 12:00 am

I don’t know how many times we’ve said it, but let’s try again: The only thing worse than bad publicity is trying to cover up bad publicity.

No, wait, there is something worse: Being found out trying to cover up a good publicity.

On Thursday, during the Dallas-Miami football game, Cowboy cheerleader Melissa Kellerman was bowled over by Dallas tight end Jason Witten as he ran out of bounds.

Witten immediately did the right thing, and helped Kellerman back to her feet.

A noble gesture.

Kellerman appeared to laugh off the incident, which was caught on film, and is now all over the Internet, of course.

Kellerman later opened her Twitter account and sent two innocuous, somewhat humorous, self-deprecating comments to her followers…all 300 or so.

But, rather than laugh about the incident, the Cowboy front office responded by telling her to close her Twitter account.

Now the comments, and the Dallas response, have a worldwide audience, and the folks in the front office are looking like a bunch of heavy-handed, corporate bullies.

OK, maybe part of Kellerman’s contract is that she not comment about the team, the games or the organization.

But, these sort of restrictions are designed to keep employees from criticizing the organizations or posting embarrassing comments.

Kellerman’s comments weren’t anything like criticism and were far from being embarrassing.

Indeed, they tend to show the team in a favorable light, and everyone could have been a winner here.

In fact, I can think of several ways to “spin” this into an even better story: Make Kellerman an honorary defensive lineman for her “awesome” stop on Witten.

Have Witten carry her purse around for “almost injuring” the cheerleader.

This incident had great potential, with winners all around.

Now, there is a loser: the Dallas Cowboy organization.

Tagged under Censorship, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Larry Burriss, Media Matters

Member Opinions:

By: nateacreman on 12/1/11
First of all the news story that started this whole nasty rumor was based on nothing more than one's opinion of what happened when Kellerman took down her Twitter page. The team and Keller have both confirmed on Monday that it was kellerman's idea to close her site when she was overwhelmed with new viewers and comments. Her Twitter is back up but now set to private. The story the team in Ms Kellerman's statement makes since if you conscider no one told Reich from two weeks before to close her account and she was the cheerleader who got a touchdown ball from her boyfriend who plays for the Bills. On her Twitter she posted she was the luckiest girlfriend ever and mentioned how proud she was of her boyfriend while changing her profile pic of her brandishing the touchdown ball that was given her as she was leaving cowboys stadium.

I will tell you like every other wanna be writer, don't let the facts get in the way of a good story.

By: bota on 12/4/11
Larry Burriss is a perfect example of why the Twitter page was shut down. I, along with millions of others witnessed the incident. it didn't require comment and baiting the cheerleader into saying something on Twitter that could be taken out of context is a typical media trick. Whoever closed the Twitter page did the smart thing.