Death Threats

Which points out why Jones was fortunate to have had his aforementioned run-in at an IRL Toronto event as opposed to say, Talledega.

 

Got two death threats from the same event while at an under 10,000 six-day daily in what is not considered a football town.

Covering a football game between intracity rivals and an assistant coach for the new high school goes postal on the opposing school's signs hung on the fence around the field prior to the start of the game. Ripping and pulling them down like he's the Tasmanian devil. He felt they were too close to his team's bench.

Could not believe it.

After he's finished, he runs into the middle of his team's huddle and is treated like a god.

A riot nearly breaks out between the fans.

The assistant coach's team comes out and takes an early lead but ends up getting thumped.

Wrote a gamer and a column. Published on Saturday. No paper on Sunday. So when I got back into work on Monday there were a number of voice mails. Two saying basically that if I wrote anything else negative about the coach that they would kill me. One was from an adult and the other from what sounded like a bunch of kids, football players if I had to guess.

The editor and publisher took them seriously, called the police and a report was filed.

Wrote a couple of other stories and columns. We dubbed it 'Sign Gate'. The story got a great deal of play in Letters to the Editor. The assistant coach, who was not being paid, was asked by the school board to stay away from the football team and school for about a year. That was a fun board meeting.

Turns out the head coach ordered the cheerleaders to tear the signs down but when they told him they wouldn't the assistant coach took matters into his own hands.

The head coach resigned later that year to become a vice principal at a larger school in a nearby city. The assistant is back on the sidelines and I have since moved on to a larger daily.

 

Have had a couple death threats and a coach who "promised" to kick my ass.
Death threat 1. Music critic gets sick and can't cover a hair-band concert. What the hell, I'll do it for him. Not a follower of the band, but knew their music and (gulp) even enjoyed some of it. Concert sucked. Even the "fan" that went with me said it sucked. Wrote that the best song heard was a Van Halen tune played between sets. Got a threat with the letters cut out from magazines. Told management and they went to the FBI. Nothing happened. Still have a copy of the letter, though. A death threat over a hair band. Amazing.
From that I learned to have an unlisted phone number and all utilities are in wife's maiden name.
Death threat 2. Fired an employee. He "vowed revenge." Didn't think much of it until I saw him parked outside my house one night and driving by my daughter's school the next day. Gave the principal a picture of the guy and told him to call the cops if he showed up. Police paid ex-employee a visit. Never seen him again.
Coach story: Didn't like a story I wrote and called to say he wish he could meet up with me. Coach was a notorious dickhead and to make matters more interesting, his sister was one of our executives.
Told SE and he said to blow it off, of course.
Coach called again and said I was a "chicken shit" for not meeting with him. Told him I was on my way to the field house. Ten minutes later I was there and he was gone.
Saw him a couple days later and asked if he wanted to "make me eat my words" as he put it.
He chose not to. His sister seemed pretty amused by the whole thing.
I was 26 when this happened, and I'm not real proud of the way I handled it. I did learn from that situation.
I rarely let people get to me like that anymore.

 

Off topic, but one time a subscriber called and asked me to get his paper off the roof. He was upset at the deilivery boy. I just laughed and told him that it wasn't up to me. He got a little miffed, but oh well. That's just one of many stories. ...

 

People usually threaten to sue me. Can't remember anyone threatening to kill me.

Taylee's post reminded me that I hear that Neil Diamond has an extremely devoted set of 60-something female fans that will threaten to rip the heart out of any reviewer who says something mean about Mr. Diamond.

 

Just like 20-something women who loved Poison and their unskinny bop

 

Wow. I'm amazed by how many on here have received actual death threats. I've been called a lot of names, received some nasty e-mails and voice mails, but never threatened with physical violence. I don't know if that means I'm doing my job or doing a shitty job.

Oh well, at least I've never had to file a police report over a football gamer.

 

I got a death threat from Slappy once, but I'm still here, so I guess he got over it.

 

Thanks for the sig upgrade, buckdub.

 

I'm sure it's quite warm with your head up your ass.

 

Years ago, when I still worked at my hometown paper, I penned a column calling NASCAR's attempt at improving safety a dog-and-pony show following the death of Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500. Never said anything bad about Earnhardt - no, I didn't like him at all but who wants anyone dead given a broad enough perspective? - just spent time blasting NASCAR about not caring about the well-being about their drivers until the organization got its meal ticket killed in what didn't look like the worst wreck ever in stock-car racing.

A few months later, in a restaurant, I was out with classmates during part of a high-school reunion weekend. An Earnhardt fan, who I knew worked in the service departments of the local Chevy dealership, threatened to kill me. Right there near a buffet in the middle of a dining area.

Thank goodness I had some good friends and classmates who were good enough people to get that jerk away from me. He was drunk - had a serious drinking problem and was a little overzealous about all things Earnhardt.

Goodness knows NASCAR is the most infallible organization on Earth. Just ask their omnipotent fans who used to fill our editorial boxes with gripes because I dared not wax poetic about Helton, the France family and such.

 

Sam, love those NASCAR people. Traveling through NC a few years back, and a Hardee's was giving away free Earnhardt drinking glasses. Being a wise ass, I asked the 70-year-old if he could look for a minute to find me a Gordon cup. Looked at me and growled, "If I were 10 years younger, I jump over this counter and whup yer ass for saying that."
I knew he wasn't joking when he threw my to-go order at me. Everyone behind the counter was glaring at me. Food, obviously, ended up in the trash.