Tesho Akindele of FC Dallas has the ball stolen by Jared Watts of Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Oct. 18, 2014 in Commerce City. (Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)
A tweet that placed blame on the Rapids front office for the club’s recent struggles apparently did not sit well with team officials and led to the firing last week of beat writer Chris Bianchi, according to e-mails obtained by The Denver Post.
“Say it once, say it again: Front office deserves much more blame than coaching staff,” Bianchi tweeted from his @Rapids_News account on Oct. 7, in a reply to a fan who was voicing his faith in the front office to get the Rapids back on the winning path.
The tweet drew the ire of Rapids’ President Tim Hinchey, who fired off an e-mail to Bianchi demanding an explanation.
The beat writer provided a series of emails to The Denver Post that were exchanges with Hinchey. Bianchi defended his opinion that a lack of defensive depth, inaction during the summer transfer window and the decision to part with midfielder Martin Rivero were more to blame for the Rapids’ lengthy winless streak (now at 13 games) than the “growing pains” of first-year coach Pablo Mastroeni.
Hinchey declined to comment to The Denver Post, saying only that Bianchi’s firing was an MLS decision. The emails on Monday.
In the exchange, Hinchey noted his track record of providing Bianchi with behind-the-scenes information and pointed to Rivero’s injury history.
“Regardless, disappointed with such a cavalier tweet. I think we deserve better,” Hinchey wrote.
Both Hinchey and Bianchi expressed disappointment in one another in the e-mail string, which culminated with Hinchey telling Bianchi, “We are done here.”
Shortly after the exchanges, Bianchi said he was informed by Major League Soccer that the damage was “irreconcilable” and he was being relieved of his duties.
Dan Courtemanche, MLS Executive Vice President of Communications, confirmed that MLSsoccer.com’s editorial staff had fired Bianchi, but he wouldn’t say if the Rapids influenced the decision.
MLS is a single entity business in which all clubs own a financial stake in the league. Both MLS and the Rapids generate and post news stories on their websites by employees who work for the league and the team, respectively.
Despite being employed by MLS, Bianchi said he never saw himself as an extension of the league’s public relations arm.
“I definitely consider myself a journalist,” said Bianchi, a full-time meteorologist with Weather Nation. “And that may have been my demise.”
Bianchi said when he was hired he was never told to withhold his opinion from social media, and he said MLS informed him that his Twitter account was “out of their control.” Courtemanche declined to comment on whether MLS writers are given specific instructions about sharing opinions on social media sites. He said the editorial department is independent of the league’s public relations arm and that all editorial decisions are made by editors.
Daniel Boniface: dboniface@denverpost.com or @danielboniface
