Travis Tritt has been all over the news lately.
Over the weekend, Tritt started trending on Twitter after various accounts (politically left-leaning accounts) noticed that they had been mysteriously blocked by him. At the advice of fellow conservative James Woods, Tritt shared his explanation for the Twitter tactic.
Per my friend @RealJamesWoods, type #resist in your Twitter search bar. Block at least twenty of these accounts per day. We will soon make them as irrelevant as they have tried to make the rest of us.
— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) September 5, 2020
And that resulted in a whole mess of tweets like these:
I've been blocked by Travis Tritt.
It's humbling to know that he's heard of me yet I have no idea who he is.— Jason😷 (@sparky347v) September 6, 2020
Travis Tritt blocked me but I honestly have no idea who he is or why I should give a shit
— Santiago Mayer (@santiagomayer_) September 7, 2020
So, this Travis Tritt thing
I found out I was blocked
I have never seen nor replied to a single one of his tweets
Is he just blocking everyone on Twitter?— William Buecker (@wcbuecker) September 6, 2020
Politics in 2020, amirite?
But here’s where it got interesting.
Sports journalist Jemele Hill is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and host of the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast. Prior to that she worked for ESPN for 12 years, participating in shows like First Take, SportsCenter and co-hosting His & Hers, Numbers Never Lie and more. She found herself in hot water with ESPN back in 2017 for violating social media guidelines on two separate occasions, one relating to critical comments about Donald Trump, and the other about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. She eventually left ESPN in 2018.
So getting back to Tritt, Jemele was also blocked by Travis Tritt. But unlike many of the other accounts, she actually met Travis Tritt a few years ago. And at the time she would’ve said he was a nice guy.
But now, in light of his outspoken political beliefs and blocking tactics, she admitted that she would now lie about about his character and “make him seem like a huge asshole.”
I’ve been blocked by both James Woods and Travis Tritt. Had anyone asked me about Travis Tritt before today I would have said he was a nice guy based off meeting him at the Kentucky Derby a few years ago. Now I’m going to re-tell that story and make him seem like a huge asshole.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 7, 2020
Of course, she dismissed it all as a joke, but joking or not, it should go without saying that it’s a rather concerning statement to hear from a journalist. Things like “truth” and “integrity” are (or at least should be) the cornerstones of good journalism.
Needless to say, she received a lot criticism for the statement.
It’s Twitter, not a term paper. Thanks for having zero sense of humor
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 8, 2020
I thought it was funny. I don’t necessarily see eye to eye with you on everything politically but that sure as hell doesn’t mean the Tritt tweet was intelligent or relevant. At best it’s indefensible.
— Dubsdread Legacy 🇺🇸🇸🇪🇮🇪✝️🪕🏌️♂️ (@cpucfknight) September 8, 2020
Travis Tritt responded to Jemele as well.
Here is a perfect example of a blatant lie being crafted just because she disagrees politically. She is a contributing writer for The Atlantic. She is telling everyone that she is going to lie about how she felt about meeting me a few years ago. How they lie is so disappointing. pic.twitter.com/SLJDZQnK7a
— Travis Tritt (@Travistritt) September 8, 2020
And look, I don’t give a shit about anybody’s politics one way or the other. I’m not siding with Travis or Jemele, Democrats or Republicans, Liberals or Conservatives, I’m not siding with anybody. I’m just trying to point out the dangers of rhetoric like this. The danger of opening admitting that as a journalist, you’re willing to lie about somebody because you disagree with their politics. It’s a slippery slope. I also don’t think blocking opposing views really helps to foster meaningful discussion either.
Either way, we’re not going to get through this shit storm unless we all come together, find common ground, and search for truth. And as a journalist, the search for truth should be priority number one.
In the meantime, I’ll be over here with Farce.
I’ll get crazy and listen to Travis Tritt, Chris Stapleton, The Chicks, Charlie Daniels, and American Aquarium in a row if I want. I don’t care.
— Farce the Music (@Farcethemusic) September 7, 2020
No sir, might even throw in some Margo Price and Toby Keith.
— Farce the Music (@Farcethemusic) September 7, 2020
