Wes Tripp, who covers sports for the UT Daily Beacon, was suspended from social media for a Facebook post rightfully (in our opinion) criticizing a Daily Beacon editorial endorsing Richard Briggs.

Apparently, Daily Beacon management decided this was a violation of their social media policy, which prohibits staff from posting "negative" content about the Beacon.

The Beacon imposed a sanction prohibiting any association with the Beacon in his Twitter and Facebook posts and removing his Twitter handle from his byline.

Mr. Tripp decided to resign, saying he would "not work for a public organization that denies my First Amendment right to publicly express my opinions."

According to Beacon policy, sanctions are imposed only after a second violation. Mr. Tripp told us that there were a couple of incidents over the summer involving sports related tweets that had nothing to do with the Beacon, but management found them objectionable because of his association with the paper.

Mr. Tripp, a history major, also disclosed to us that he is working as a volunteer for the Cheri Siler campaign.

Mr. Tripp gave us permission to re-post his Facebook resignation post in its entirety, and you can read it after the break. Powerful stuff. He also said that WATE interviewed him and the story will air at 11 PM tonight. Also, national media/journalism blogger Jim Romensko is covering the controversy.

Today, The Daily Beacon published a political endorsement column in which the editorial board endorsed Richard Briggs for State Senate and endorsed No on Amendment 1.

Here is the article:
(link...)

I posted on my Facebook page expressing my disagreement with the board's decisions. That post is still on my timeline even though I was asked to remove it or face further action. I also stated on someone else's post that I was upset with my colleagues. Since I was a staff member at the Beacon, I considered myself to be colleagues with the editorial board.

In my opinion, the column is highly contradictory and deficient in logic. The Beacon suggests we should vote no on Amendment 1 while voting for an individual who supports Amendment 1. The article goes on to say, "While we are officially endorsing Briggs, we hope he will support several important UT interests in Nashville, including advocating for students who cannot sustain the rising rate of tuition, mandating a living wage for workers in Knoxville and UT, supporting safe, affordable health care for all citizens in Tennessee and protecting the reproductive rights of women in the state."

If you look at Briggs' campaign website and read everything he has said leading up to this campaign you will realize that he does not support any of these measures. There is one candidate who does: his opponent, Cheri Siler. It doesn't make sense to advocate for a candidate you hope will do certain things when there is a candidate who has made those things her platform.

The column does describe Briggs as "more moderate and centrist, ideal in an extreme, polarized environment."

I can guarantee you with almost 100% certainty that Briggs will toe the party line and do exactly what Ron Ramsey wants him to. A vote for Briggs is a vote for Stacey Campfield without the theatrics.

My actions on social media were deemed to be a violation of the Beacon's social media policy. I specifically violated the following rule: You may not write or post negative content about The Daily Beacon online.

I disagree with the interpretation that my comments were negative. I disagreed with the column's content in a respectful manner, apparently however as a staff member if I disagree about something the Beacon publishes I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut. No one should ever fear or be kept from expressing their opinions in a respectful manner.

As a result, I was suspended from all social media activity for the Beacon for the remainder of the semester. My byline would no longer include my twitter handle and I had to remove any mention of The Daily Beacon from my Facebook or Twitter bios. I was not suspended from writing for the Beacon.

I decided to resign because I will not work for a public organization that denies my First Amendment right to publicly express my opinions.

There are some great people that work for the Beacon. I enjoyed my time there and am thankful for the opportunities I was able to experience. I used to have a very high opinion of the Beacon. Today, that opinion has diminished.