The Washington Post has walked back its decision to suspend reporter Felicia Sonmez after she tweeted about Kobe Bryant’s 2003 rape case and shared a factual article about the incident following his death on Sunday. She has been re-instated.
“After conducting an internal review, we have determined that, while we consider Felicia’s tweets ill-timed, she was not in clear and direct violation of our social media policy,” managing editor Tracy Grant said in a statement Monday. “Reporters on social media represent the Washington Post and our policy states ‘we must be ever mindful of preserving the reputation of the Washington Post for journalistic excellence, fairness and independence.’