FanPost

A Message from Gabbert's Online Attacker

For those who have been following the spat between former Missouri walk-on Austin Huff and Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert on Twitter, I must report that Rock M Nation received an email from Huff on Monday night in which he sincerely apologizes for his actions. Huff's comments on Saturday were what prompted my diatribe about Missouri fans' reactions to the Baylor loss and led to the #ImwithBG11 movement on Twitter.

After the jump is the full text of the email sent to me by Huff, published with his consent in part to help bring some small semblance of closure to what has turned out to be a sordid ordeal.

To RMN members, PLEASE click "Rec" at the bottom of this post to make sure this FanPost is labeled as "Recommended" and is therefore pinned to the top of Rock M Nation's right hand sidebar. In addition, I sincerely hope readers will pass this link on to anyone who saw Huff's initial comments.

To The Writers of Rock M Nation,

My name is Austin Huff. I am the person who Tweeted the negative, unnecessary, and excessive comments to Blaine Gabbert.

I am writing you this e-mail to clean some things up. Saturday afternoon concluding the 40-32 loss to Baylor, I was pretty upset, frustrated, disappointed, and embarrassed, as were many Tiger fans. Fortunately, other Tiger fans didn't go to the unnecessary extent with their frustration like I did.

I was extremely frustrated with the fact that we gave Baylor their 3rd Big 12 road win in it's school's history. On top of that I was also frustrated about the fact that we hadn't scored a second half touchdown since the Nevada game. Nevertheless, my frustrations never should have taken control of me as much as they did to lead me to the actions I took. My actions were inexcusable.

I Tweeted some things that, as a True Son, I never should have even been thinking. I never would have even said what I did had I known I was going to get a response from Blaine, but of course, I got a response via direct message which just made me more upset and, in turn, more regrettable things were said.

If you ask anyone that knows me, this was highly uncharacteristic of me. Never have I ever said anything negative about any aspect of Mizzou athletics before. I'm usually the one calling out others for saying negative things. Furthermore, saying mean things to anyone isn't me either. I don't attack people like that and I honestly don't have any excuse for what I Tweeted. My emotions and passion for Mizzou football got the best of me and I never should have done what I did. I was the instigator and deserve full blame.

I can honestly tell you that I have never been more disappointed in myself or have been more depressed in all my life. I haven't been able to focus and there is a pain in my heart that cannot go away.

I have since replied to both Blaine Gabbert and Derrick Washington apologizing for what I had said via Twitter. I was out of line and it was extremely unnecessary and inappropriate. I am also taking further steps to get in touch with staff to make sure that Blaine, D-Wash, and the team know that I am sorry and extremely regretful and that they have my full support for the rest of the season and the rest of their careers. I wish it could be done in person but I understand that I might be the last person anyone on the team would want to see right now.

Bottom line: I was wrong. I regret it 100%. I acted without thinking and I have learned my lesson. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to deal with in my life and I am fully deserving for what I said. All I ask is for forgiveness... From the team, from other Mizzou fans, from my peers, from the people at your blog, and most importantly, from Christ my Savior.

I'm not sure exactly who wrote the blog about this situation. I just wanted to write to the blog in it's entirety to apologize. I love Rock M Nation, and have been reading it for a long time now and will continue to read it as I bleed black and gold just as much as anyone else.

Thanks for your time.

God Bless,
Austin Huff

In the interest of full transparency, I wish to also issue my own mea culpa of sorts and publish my response to his email:

Austin,

As not only the author of that post, but a fellow Mizzou fan (and, hell, a fellow human being), I can't tell you how much I appreciate your civility in swallowing an immense amount of pride during this ordeal, especially in writing that email. I think we can all admit to saying our own fair share of regrettable things in the heat of the moment, whether published on a blogging platform, a social media outlet, or just in person. I, in turn, must apologize for making an example of you. Obviously I was quite disturbed by what transpired on your Twitter feed, but I had a much larger problem with a much larger portion of the Missouri fan base that had I'd been harboring for a few weeks before it finally capsized on Saturday. What was meant to be a diatribe against the culture of condemnation the Mizzou fan base is developing ended up degenerating into what I'm sure came across as a personal attack.

...

Thank you for taking the time to email us. It is much more appreciated than you know.

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