UPDATE: Pittsburgh TV Station Fires the Guy Responsible for the 'Known Cheater' Graphic. Too Little, Too Late

Source – The higher-ups at Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate didn’t find Monday afternoon’s graphic taking a shot at Tom Brady as funny as Patriots haters did.

The employee responsible for the graphic is no longer employed by the station, a spokesperson told SI.com. …

“While fans are entitled to have personal opinions, we have a journalistic responsibility to provide unbiased reporting,” KDKA said in a statement to SI.com. “The graphic that appeared Monday violated our news standards. The individual who created the graphic no longer works for KDKA-TV.”

Nice try, Pittsburgh station KDKA. But too little, too late. You missed your on-ramp for the High Road and there’s no getting on it now.

Ordinarily, a thing like clapping at Tom Brady would get you promoted to Station Manager in Pittsburgh. It’s certainly playing to your audience. But I get what happened here. These people are terrified right now. Their whole way of life is being threatened. Their culture is being appropriated right out from under them and it’s causing widespread panic.

Like I said last week, 20 years ago the Steelers’ postseason record was 25-10, with four Super Bowls. The Patriots were 7-10 with zero. Everything was orderly for them then. Their world made sense. Now they’re at 36-25 with six championships, while the Pats are 36-20 with five titles. And favored to win their 37th and 6th. While the Steelers are in utter chaos, on the verge of losing two of their three most important players. It has to be horrifying to have your reality turned upside down like that, your whole existence called into question.

Steelers fans are like an ancient, indigenous kingdom encountering a more advanced, technologically superior culture for the first time. And they’re scared of being conquered. So they’re doing what confused, frightened peoples have done throughout time: Making ritual sacrifices to appease what they perceive as angry, vengeful gods who caused this to happen.

Sorry to break it to you, KDKA. But the damage is done. It can not be undone. Roll all the heads you want down the steps of the pyramid. This sacrifice be in vain. Word of what was said will reach the God of Cheating down in Atlanta. But the blood spilled on the stones will not. Your prayers for mercy will go unheeded. The sun will still go dark, your crops will fail and your women shall not give birth.

Congratulations, you just made an angry god that much angrier. He does not forgive, and you will be feeling his unholy wrath for years to come.