LAKEVIEW — A popular Lakeview eatery's Twitter account advertised a Ray Rice "knockout" deal Tuesday, referencing the running back's beatdown of his wife.
The tweet on Cheesie's Twitter account, which has since been deleted, read: "TINDER TUESDAY = 20% off tabs! It's a knockout deal... we're calling it Ray Rice ;-)"
Cheesie's Manager Chance Lydick discusses the tweet on DNAinfo Radio:
The tweet comes after NFL running back Ray Rice was released by the Baltimore Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the league Monday after a shocking video surfaced showing the football star knocking out his then-fiancee in a casino elevator in Feburary.
Cheesie's has since apologized on its social media account, stating that a "disgruntled ex-employee" posted the tweet.
Cheesie’s General Manager Chance Lydick said once he learned of the tweet it was immediately deleted from the pub's Twitter account.
“Multiple sources” told Lydick that a disgruntled ex-employee was responsible for the tweet, he said.
Although Cheesie’s social media manager was not believed to have composed the tweet, that employee was fired after the Rice tweet, Lydick said. The social media manager should have changed passwords to restrict access to the account, he said.
“We do not condone this behavior, we do not condone Ray Rice, we do not condone domestic violence,” Lydick said. “We pride ourselves on being the kind of place that everyone wants to be, and now being associated with that is absolutely disheartening to us.”
Cheesie’s, at 958 W. Belmont Ave., will hire an independent social media company to manage its accounts, and it plans a charitable fundraiser for a domestic violence center, Lydick said.
We would like to apologize for the previous tweet, referencing Ray Rice. This tweet was posted by a disgruntled ex employee who had
— Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014Twitter access. In no way, shape or form do we condone his behavior. We also apologize to anyone who was directly offended by this tweet.
— Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014Social media security precautions are being put in place to prevent this from happening again. Also, we will be setting up a charitable
— Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014Fundraiser in the near future with center for domestic violence. Once again our sincere apologies.
— Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) September 9, 2014For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
