AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File

Hunters have been under fire for some time. Anytime someone posts a photo of game bagged at a perfectly legal and ethical hunt, it seems some mob wants to destroy them. Apparently, some don’t comprehend the role hunting can play in wildlife management. After all, without hunting, some of these species would overpopulate and start causing problems.

Now, I get the outrage at big game hunts in Africa. Those animals feel exotic, and some are thought of as endangered, even if they’re not on the list. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still stupid, but I understand where the anger is coming from. It’s coming from a place of ignorance.

Of course, that also explains Keith Olbermann pretty damn well, too.

It seems the former MSNBC host decided that an American hunter had crossed some imaginary line.

A hunter in Mississipi received “verbal attacks” after being singled out by ESPN commentator Keith Olbermann on Twitter. Earlier today Olbermann freaked out over a minor story about a hunter shooting an unusual white turkey during turkey hunting season. Olbermann called for the author of the story to be fired and said of Hunter Waltman, the man who shot the turkey, “we should do our best to make sure the rest of his life is a living hell.” (h/t Caleb Hull)

That implied threat didn’t go over well with anyone, including Olbermann’s employer. Fox News reports ESPN has spoken to himabout the incident but there aren’t any additional details. Something must have happened though because Olbermann deleted the tweet and apologized:

I am an opponent of trophy hunting and remain so, but nobody should feel threatened. This was anything but my intent, so I unreservedly apologize to Mr. Waltman for this tweet.

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) March 27, 2019

Waltman, unfortunately, was receiving threats, and who is to blame for that? Olbermann. After all, what else does he think it means to “make sure the rest of his life is a living hell?”

I don’t care that he’s an opponent of trophy hunting. Had he voiced his opposition to trophy hunting and left it there, I wouldn’t be writing about Olbermann. After all, he blocked me on Twitter years ago after I told him he needed to develop a sense of humor or get a fully-functioning brain (thus proving my point, actually). I wouldn’t have seen his opposition.

Frankly, I wouldn’t have cared. It’s not like Olbermann is likely to sway opinions on trophy hunting one way or another, so I wouldn’t have worried.

But Olbermann didn’t stop there. He directed people to attack Mr. Waltman. He can say that wasn’t his intention, but that’s kind of hard to swallow. Waltman did nothing wrong. He shot a white turkey, a genetic abnormality that was likely not long for the world due to a genetic abnormality, yet Olbermann directed his followers to “make sure the rest of his life is a living hell.”

He directed them to attack.

Sorry, Keith, but you don’t get to unleash the hounds and then pretend you never intended for them to bite. You don’t get to direct people to attack and harass and then pretend that you never intended for those people to attack and harass.

Keep in mind, folks, that Olbermann is the same kind of guy who holds the NRA responsible for what anyone with a gun does, yet he pretends he’s not culpable for actions he directly called for.

Hypocrisy.

Olbermann would do well to just shut up about anything not related to sports. He’s not very good at any of it, but he makes less of an a** of himself when he talks baseball rather than hunting.