On Sunday, the Philadelphia 76ers official X account posted a message regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying “We stand with the people of Israel and join them in mourning the hundreds of innocent lives lost to terrorism at the hands of Hamas.”
A few minutes later, PhillyVoice 76ers beat reporter Jackson Frank reshared the post with the message “This post suck! Solidarity with Palestine always.” That post has since been deleted.
As of Monday, Frank was no longer employed by PhillyVoice.
“Mr. Frank is no longer employed by PhillyVoice.com as of today,” PhillyVoice.com CEO Hal Donnelly told The New York Post. “We stand with everyone who is absolutely outraged by the senseless attacks in Israel, by the loss of innocent lives and violence against civilians.”
Frank declined to comment when reached by the Post. He also appears to have deleted his X account.
The Gonzaga graduate’s tenure with the digital publisher lasted all of one month. He replaced Kyle Neubeck, who left the company to work for All-City’s PHLY startup. Frank has previously worked for SB Nation, The Athletic, and Dime/Uproxx, amongst other outlets.
Emotions are understandably fraught at the moment over everything that has happened in Israel and Palestine over the last few days, and it’s a tricky time for anyone to share their opinions freely without risk of upsetting not only people on the other side of the issues but also their employers. We have to imagine this won’t be the last time someone receives punishment for voicing an opinion about the conflict.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.