HOUSTON – A Houston radio show host’s attempt at humor on Twitter about attending his son’s robotics tournament landed him in hot water with the people of the internet.
Jesse Kelly tweeted that he was attending a Lego robotics tournament with other “depressed fathers” and that they’re all thinking “other kids play football…”
In comments on the tweet, Kelly mocked the event further, mentioning that it had its own play-by-play announcer and awards ceremony.
Following a tweet that indicated that his son had advanced to the next level -- and that Kelly would like to drink hard liquor about it -- Pokemon Facts, an account with more than 100,000 followers stepped in to school this dad with sarcasm, saying, “Man it’s so EPIC that you care more about your image than being proud of your son. SUPER COOL that you tweeted this to your 100,000 followers also! EPIC TWEET man!”
Mike Drucker, a writer for "Samantha Bee," wrote, “I, too, hate the idea of my children one day having valuable career skills.”
Others, such as Kim Foye, were a bit more direct.
“My son is a star soccer player and contributes poetry to his high school’s literary magazine,” she wrote. “Everyone should be able to explore their gifts and their passions.”
“My oldest son has always been a great artist and musician and loved Legos,” Twitter user Cool Hand Tank wrote. “He tried football but didn’t like it. He’s now at Stanford and will change the world in his own way. I love him very much and would never betray my fatherhood by mocking his chosen path.”
Kelly did not directly address the hundreds of responses attacking his remarks and supporting his son on the thread. Instead, he called the responses a "rage mob" in a subsequent tweet.
What do you think about Kelly’s remarks and the response? Let us know in the comments.
Kelly is employed by The Jesse Kelly Show on 950 KPRC in Houston. KPRC radio is not affiliated with KPRC Channel 2.