Education

School Shooting PR Consultant Apologizes After Creating More PR Problems For Broward County Public Schools

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• Public Relations consultant Sara Brady apologized for calling people who opposed a school program following the Parkland school shooting as “crazies.”
• She also said she went “overboard” in referring to a South Florida reporter as “skanky.”
• Brady was hired by Broward County Public Schools to handle PR issues related to the Parkland shooting in February.

A public relations consultant hired after the Parkland school shooting apologized for calling those who opposed a district program as “crazies” and acknowledged she went too far after calling a reporter “skanky.”

Sara Brady was hired by Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) to handle any PR issues resulting from the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Tuesday.

Part of her duties included talking to other PR professionals at a conference in July, according to VICE News.

Brady mentioned “crazies” came out after the district tweeted the Promise program did not lead to the shooting. The program helped students who committed minor crimes avoid jail, the Sentinel reported.

Brady apologized to Hunter Pollack on Monday after he tweeted a video along with a caption that said, “Our leaders don’t care about Parkland families!” Pollack’s sister, Meadow, died in the shooting.

Our leaders don’t care about Parkland families!

Broward’s Superintendent and his PR person called grieving families “crazies”, “the opposition”, and call hardworking reporters “skanks” for exposing the truth.

Retweet and expose them all! pic.twitter.com/Z4AmKFsNFi

— Hunter Pollack (@PollackHunter) December 4, 2018

“Sure enough, all the crazies kind of came out,” Brady said in the video. “The district knows who the crazies are and who the opposition is.”

She also mentioned “a particular reporter in South Florida” who was described as “sloppy,” “reckless” and “smells bad,” according to a video obtained by the Sentinel. Brady referred to an unnamed reporter as “that nasty, skanky reporter” as well.

The Sentinel claims the reporter Brady was referring to was Scott Travis.

Brady issued three more tweets Tuesday at 7:20 a.m. going into greater details about calling people “crazies.”

My comments about ‘crazies’ were part of an overall presentation for communication practitioners and were in reference to the anonymous trolls and bots who seemingly always appear after these hideous tragedies.

— Sara Brady PR (@newsgirl52) December 4, 2018

They are empowered by posting their personal and unsubstantiated theories on social media. Never would I refer to victim’s families in such a way. We grieve with the families who lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy.

— Sara Brady PR (@newsgirl52) December 4, 2018

My role in any crisis is to simply assist the organizations with whom I’m working in the communications process with both the media and public at large.

— Sara Brady PR (@newsgirl52) December 4, 2018

Brady also admitted going “overboard” on the comments about the reporter, according to the Sentinel.

The comments about the reporter were “inappropriate, hurtful, and in no way represents the views and values of the leadership,” BCPS Superintendent Robert Runcie told VICE News.

Runcie explained Brady’s comments regarding the Promise program were in response to the reactions.

“My family and I have received nasty, racist, and hateful messages, phone calls, and threats concerning this event and particularly around the misunderstood PROMISE program,” Runcie said, VICE reported. “My daughters have received jarring and upsetting hate mail and threats at work and school. Her [Brady] comments were a reaction to this situation.”

BCPS and Brady did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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