People sometimes say things and later wish they hadn’t.  That seems to be the case with Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski this week when he tried to clarify comments made three weeks ago that were seen as criticism of President Barack Obama’s strategy in handling ISIS.  Coach K tried to ‘walk it back’ this week after a Duke game saying his comments were taken out of context and he was not talking specifically about Obama and that he “loves President Obama”.

Greenville City Councilperson Marion Blackburn is having the same problem after her comments to WITN-TV on Monday regarding the use of chemical munitions by Greenville Police in handling a riotous crowd at Riverwalk on Halloween night.

Blackburn told veteran WITN reporter Lynette Taylor “Nobody wants to hear that tear gas was used in their neighborhood and that’s upsetting to me.  And that things were at that state tells me we have to be prepared in a different way to make sure that never happens again”.

Greenville Headlines published a story using that quote and correctly sourcing WITN as the place where Blackburn had said it.  The story also quoted Greenville Police Chief Hassan Aden as saying the police were not caught “off guard” and that social media contributed to the crowd growing to the size it did.   Combined with alcohol consumption the crowd got out of hand.

Blackburn has taken issue with both WITN and Greenville Headlines, saying her comments were used “out of context”.  There is no doubt there was a backlash on social media and other community forums after her comments were reported.  In her request to Greenville Headlines for a “correction” she indicated that, indeed, some of her own supporters had made negative comments on social media about her quote on TV.

The question here is – what was the context of her comments if we got it wrong?  Clearly she said the city would “need to be prepared in a different way” indicating she did not believe the strategy employed on Halloween night was acceptable.  On Monday, Blackburn said the use of chemical munitions was “upsetting” to her.  Now, she has joined almost everyone in the city in applauding the police for the way the situation was resolved.  It should be noted there were no serious injuries in spite of what could have been a disastrous conclusion.

Blackburn says WITN has removed the story from their website however it is still there.   It has, however, been updated to include a comment from her stating “she says the rioting, itself, concerns her, not necessarily how the police handled the matter”.

Blackburn finds herself in an uncomfortable spot and is now making an effort to ‘walk it back’.  To blame the media for comments you wish you had not made is politics of the worst kind.  Perhaps Blackburn has learned something Krzyzewski should have already known.  It is impossible to be misquoted when you are speaking into a microphone.