Pro Football Talk Removes Comment Section With Site Redesign, Still Wants You To Know They Support The First Amendment
Outside of being home to hundreds of NFL rumors and a place where founder Mike Florio can regurgitate liberal political talking points, Pro Football Talk was known for it's incredibly basic layout and rather spicy comment section.
The website introduced its new design on Monday, and with the facelift came the removal of the comment section.
Pro Football Talk is by no means the only often-visited sports website to get rid of its comment section, but Florio's explanation as to why it is no more is certainly interesting.
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According to him, all the toxic dialogue being had in the comment section simply needs to move over to social media. But do not fear, Florio is still a big First Amendment guy, but since his website isn't a literal "town square" then free speech can be tossed aside.
"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," Florio wrote.
"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."
The Pro Football Talk Twitter account is no stranger to receiving backlash, but with the removal of the comment section, their mentions may very well turn into a literal cesspool.