Strange story out of Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers recently hired Jon Schuetz as Memorial Stadium’s public address announcer, and then turned around and fired him one day later.
Schuetz, formerly the sports director for KETV-TV in Omaha, told his former employer he was fired after university officials discovered a social media post he made critical of former Huskers coach Bo Pelini. The post has since been deleted.
It is worth noting, of course, Schuetz was not a Nebraska employee at the time, and Pelini is no longer Nebraska’s head coach. Still, Schuetz told his former employer he holds no animosity toward the Huskers.
“If I were in their shoes, I would’ve done the same thing. I’ve hired people. I get it. ... If you say something about a prospective future employer, it’s legitimate to say if you’re not on board with what we do here, maybe you shouldn’t be here,” he told the Omaha World-Herald. “I respect the decision. I hold no hard feelings toward anybody down there. The worst part is I feel like I’ve left some great people at HuskerVision in a difficult situation just a few days before the first game of the season.”
The post in question, according to the paper, appeared on Facebook on Nov. 30, 2014:
Harvey Perlman is as (sic) disgrace. Remember this was the guy who extended Steve Pederson’s contract only to fire him a few months later. When will he be held to account?
Schuetz was hired to replace Patrick Combs, whom the university dismissed this summer after he was arrested on suspicion of conning two elderly women out of more than $350,000.
Whomever the Huskers turn to next, they’d better do it quickly. Nebraska’s home schedule opens Saturday against BYU.
Update: The Huskers apparently found the one person that never criticized the program.UNL announced @lanegrindle as the new #Huskers PA announcer. Congrats to Lane, who previously served as the sideline reporter.
— Sean Callahan (@Sean_Callahan) September 1, 2015
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