For some reason I can't even fathom now, I've held back the story of how Fitz has treated me through this whole process. Now that he's decided to go on a Twitter Tantrum and make up things that are just not even close to being true (we never, ever reported that Jesse Ertz was off the team), I think it's time for me to be honest and defend myself for a moment.
Roughly four months before this happened, I contacted Fitz to let him know I was interested in writing again, for free. This is the third time in the last three years I've contacted him interested in helping the site free of charge. As he did every year, he responded, saying something about how it would be cool, and then ignored it. If he didn't think I was worthy of working on his site, for free, that's his call.
Then, in July, Jeff Martin contacted me and offered me money to do what I had been trying to do for three years for free, and that's write about K-State sports. Jeff was a groomsman in my wedding, and the idea of getting paid to work for one of my best friends covering my biggest passion was too much to pass up. I was thrilled.
I wrote Fitz telling him what I would be doing and that I'd be excited to work around him. His response was simply to tell me (and others) that he hoped I hadn't quit my full-time job for this. Not 'hi,' not 'look forward to seeing you.' Simply, "did you quit your other job?" He also told me he couldn't believe I'd go to the level of competing against him.
I told him it was frustrating to me that he acted this way, when I had offered to work for him for free. I told him it seemed unfair that he's mad at me for taking a paying job writing about K-State sports when I couldn't get him to let me write about K-State for free. He said if he knew how serious I was about it he would have "let his guyS go," to bring me back on. If somebody really wants to question that when reading this statement - I can send you the collection of texts that say all of this.
I told him it was ridiculous to have said that, as he never would have needed to let anybody go. I offered to work for free. I tried to then go back to saying I think things can be big enough for the both of us, to which he responded if I was successful I could put him out of business.
A few weeks after it started he sent me a text telling me we had "been friends a long time" but if I didn't start deleting comments about him off the board our friendship would go south very quickly. Instead of texting back I called him to tell him that his choice to threaten not to be my friend anymore wouldn't impact how hard I work on the site, to which he replied with a tirade of shouted F-bombs at me that Jeff and my wife heard in the basement. I haven't spoken to him since, and he's offered no apology to somebody who spent five years working for him, building his site to its peak.
Since then he's sent threats (in text, so, we have them still) a hateful f-bomb laden threat to Jeff and myself, as well as spread countless lies about myself and this website on his website and on Twitter. All the while I kept my mouth shut and just handled it as well as I could. I already am disappointed in myself that I am letting this all go now, but what he's done today has finally pushed me past the point of protecting him as it relates to how he's handled this situation with me.
Finally, I've always disliked the suggestion that we were "born on third" when we took over this site. True story, this site more than doubled in members during my run as editor, and when I came back - 10 years later - it was significantly smaller than it was when I left it. In reality, I moved on when I was on third base and came back having to return to first.
Roughly four months before this happened, I contacted Fitz to let him know I was interested in writing again, for free. This is the third time in the last three years I've contacted him interested in helping the site free of charge. As he did every year, he responded, saying something about how it would be cool, and then ignored it. If he didn't think I was worthy of working on his site, for free, that's his call.
Then, in July, Jeff Martin contacted me and offered me money to do what I had been trying to do for three years for free, and that's write about K-State sports. Jeff was a groomsman in my wedding, and the idea of getting paid to work for one of my best friends covering my biggest passion was too much to pass up. I was thrilled.
I wrote Fitz telling him what I would be doing and that I'd be excited to work around him. His response was simply to tell me (and others) that he hoped I hadn't quit my full-time job for this. Not 'hi,' not 'look forward to seeing you.' Simply, "did you quit your other job?" He also told me he couldn't believe I'd go to the level of competing against him.
I told him it was frustrating to me that he acted this way, when I had offered to work for him for free. I told him it seemed unfair that he's mad at me for taking a paying job writing about K-State sports when I couldn't get him to let me write about K-State for free. He said if he knew how serious I was about it he would have "let his guyS go," to bring me back on. If somebody really wants to question that when reading this statement - I can send you the collection of texts that say all of this.
I told him it was ridiculous to have said that, as he never would have needed to let anybody go. I offered to work for free. I tried to then go back to saying I think things can be big enough for the both of us, to which he responded if I was successful I could put him out of business.
A few weeks after it started he sent me a text telling me we had "been friends a long time" but if I didn't start deleting comments about him off the board our friendship would go south very quickly. Instead of texting back I called him to tell him that his choice to threaten not to be my friend anymore wouldn't impact how hard I work on the site, to which he replied with a tirade of shouted F-bombs at me that Jeff and my wife heard in the basement. I haven't spoken to him since, and he's offered no apology to somebody who spent five years working for him, building his site to its peak.
Since then he's sent threats (in text, so, we have them still) a hateful f-bomb laden threat to Jeff and myself, as well as spread countless lies about myself and this website on his website and on Twitter. All the while I kept my mouth shut and just handled it as well as I could. I already am disappointed in myself that I am letting this all go now, but what he's done today has finally pushed me past the point of protecting him as it relates to how he's handled this situation with me.
Finally, I've always disliked the suggestion that we were "born on third" when we took over this site. True story, this site more than doubled in members during my run as editor, and when I came back - 10 years later - it was significantly smaller than it was when I left it. In reality, I moved on when I was on third base and came back having to return to first.
