Deadspin: phil savage

Phil Savage Finally Apologizes For His Impassioned Expletive in E-mail Freakout to Fan

DAULERIO — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:45:08 EST

Well. Who would've thought a story like this could get so much attention? And, hey — even ESPN.com took off the web censors and let the AP's "as first reported by Deadspin.com" into its online copy. I'm flattered that they acknowledge our uncanny ability to carefully sift through our inbox. And now, Phil Savage has officially fessed up and apologized for using the dreaded F plus ampersands and exclamation marks to respond to an angry Browns fan:

"It happened after the game," Savage in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "There had been previous e-mails from him over the months and enough was enough. We have both apologized to each other since. The Browns' fans have overwhelmingly been supportive of me over the past 3-plus seasons and I appreciate that greatly."

Indeed, they both did apologize to each other and had a friendly exchange which can be read in its entirety here.

Now, since this made ESPN.com — will they have to reference Deadspin on SportsCenter if it makes their story log? I bet Stu Scott will pass that one over to his co-anchor.

Browns GM Savage Apologizes for Expletive E-mail [AP]

Phil Savage Is Probably Sorry For "F%&# You" Email To Fan

DAULERIO — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:30:21 EST

Well, that didn't take long. Browns GM Phil Savage admitted he did in fact send a nasty email to a fan that was posted here last evening. According to the AP, Browns Coach Romeo Crennel was the one who confirmed:

Crennel says he understands Savage's frustration and spoke with him Thursday about the incident. Crennel says it's unfortunate that it happened, adding "in tough times, tough things happen."

So, ignore my cautious updates. And apologies to any Browns' interns who I may have implicated in the follow-up. But, honestly, you can almost understand the level of frustration that Browns' fans feel. What I can't understand is how a GM could fire off something like that to a random person who ultimately helps keep you employed — especially after a win. From now on, Phil, you probably should hire an intern to handle your email correspondence with fans.

Oh, and big ups to Cleveland Frowns for keeping everybody honest. You're doing God's work, sir.

Browns GM Savage Sent E-Mail Containing Expletive [AP]

Browns' GM Phil Savage Responds To Email Hecklers Swiftly, But Not Very Politely (UPDATE)

DAULERIO — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:00:45 EST

As a person who gets tons of nasty email, I know it's tough to always show restraint and resist the urge to stick up for yourself. This practice is frowned upon, and not healthy, because, well, those emails could potentially come back to bite you in the ass. Plus, as a "professional" you're supposed to take the high road on such matters. This has to be a daily problem for sports executives, especially those who advertise their email to the public and then receive emails like this one which was sent on Monday night to Browns' GM Phil Savage from a disgruntled fan. (UPDATE: This email interaction was forwarded from WXDX in Pittsburgh. They talked about the email on air. Given that fact, skepticism about legitimacy of the email is warranted. Original emailer says it is true, but you know — these things can get out of control. So until I can find out whether or not this is the real deal — which may be hard, let's just keep this in the "might be a prank" file. Because some people are saying this is very out of character for Phil Savage. Also from the original person who sent the email to the Savage account: "It's an official address at Clevelandbrowns.com Who knows, maybe an intern checked it and flipped out. I've sent 2 flollow ups, one an apology and haven't heard anything back...." My gut? Probably the person in charge of fielding Phil Savage's email went a little haywire...).

Rest of original post, after the jump:

You are easily the worst GM in the NFL. Chud, Crennel and Tucker should
NOT have jobs. How the hell do you play prevent defense the entire
game? How do you NOT use Jerome Harrison more? Why the hell would you
throw the ball with 6 minutes left? This is officially a regime that is
worse than Butch Davis'. By the way, just like last week - this email
was written while the Browns still had the lead.

It appears Mr. Savage wasn't in any mood to take this sort of criticism after a victory, because he sent this response:

From: Savage, Phil
Subject: Re: Browns
To: xxxxxxx
Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 12:17 AM

Go root for Buffalo-f#@* you-

Maybe he meant to say "thank you" and his face fell on the keyboard because he was so tired? The time stamp does say it was a little after midnight when he sent it. Or maybe he was just drunk and thought he was emailing with Kellen Winslow?

Either way, I'm sure plenty of other Cleveland Browns fans would like to send Mr. Savage an email message more often if he continues to fire off these colorful responses. Give it a shot!

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