ProFootballTalk (PFT) announced a major update to its website format on Monday, which included the removal of its comment section.
Mike Florio, the founder of PFT, said that his decision to remove the comment section from his website was out of a desire to remove “toxic” and “hateful” dialogue that a certain contingent of his following was producing.
Relative to the entire readership of PFT, only a very small percentage posted comments on a regular basis. Far too many comments were, at times, far too hateful and toxic (especially many that were deleted by the moderators.) Given the prevalence of social media, there are many other ways for voices to be heard.
You can easily interact with any of our items on Twitter or Facebook; nearly every story is posted on each platform. You also can email me directly, at florio@profootballtalk.com.
The First Amendment remains alive and well, and we fully support it. But PFT wasn’t and isn’t a town square. It’s an outlet for NFL news and opinion. There was a time that the interaction added to the experience. That time, in our assessment, has ended.
He’s perfectly within his right to do this. It’s his website and social media is still available for people to voice their opinions. But there is a little more underneath the surface than just a website structure change.
Related: Sage Steele Rejects ESPN's Settlement Offer Over Her 2021 Firing
Florio seems to be addressing people who are making comments about political issues within the NFL, which would make sense given how woke it's become. After all, why would he need to specify his website is for “NFL news and opinion” and that it’s not “a town square” if this weren’t the case?
However, if Florio is clarifying that PFT is not a political form, then he’s done a terrible job at following his own rule.
When Roe v. Wade was abolished just over a year ago, Florio released an article on his website in which he criticized the NFL for not complaining as loudly as he has that abortion was no longer federally protected. It’s a lengthy piece in which he applauds leagues that did say overturning Roe was bad news (which it wasn’t), and criticizes organized religions for using that situation as a money grab.
So it seems that for a time, political dialogue about the NFL was welcomed - but only certain types. There should be a flag thrown on this play for inconsistency.
Follow MRCTV on Twitter!
Mika Brzezinski claims that not allowing women to have abortions will leave them dead or sterilized. https://t.co/kgwPTDQaVm
— MRCTV (@mrctv) June 27, 2023