Rick Reilly Deserves A Pass On The Chiefs "Suicide Prevention" Tweet

Almost immediately after Javon Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend and later himself Saturday morning, we've been aware of a Rick Reilly tweet that has offended some people. It's awkward, unfunny and derivative. That is to say, it is a Rick Reilly Original®. It's also from September.

There are plenty of reasons to get on Reilly and we have covered them ad nauseam. Cherry picking a tweet from three months ago is not one of those reasons. Obviously this is a tragic coincidence and could have been about any team. In fact, that's how you know it's a harmless Reilly-ism.

There's nothing there that makes it more—or less—funny if it's said about any other team, or even sport. It just so happens this particular joke was farted out of the Rick Reilly joke cutter during a Kansas City Chiefs game against the Buffalo Bills on September 16. It's a statement given post-hoc relevance only by the occurrence of something totally unforeseen. It is a Nostradamus quatrain.

We've seen stories and received emails musing aloud: " bet Reilly wishes he could have this one back." Yeah, sure, maybe—but not because it's retroactively insensitive. If you were offended on September 16, that's your prerogative. If not, give the guy a break.