Congratulations, Mr. Jim Rome, you evoked the wrath of thousands of band enthusiasts, including the United States Army Field Band, when you posed the question on Twitter: “Is there anyone not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool?”

Unfortunately, you weren’t thinking about your aim when you fired those shots. You’ve taught Twitter that bullying is perfectly OK if you’re sitting at the top with a fat wallet, and you think a simple “I was out of line” will settle down the thousands of people nationwide you’ve upset. Nice try, but you’ll have to do a lot more than that simple apology to pacify this writer.

Now you claim you “don’t condone bullying of any kind.

I’m sorry, but you might want to take another look at the dictionary because not condoning means you won’t allow it, much less partake in it yourself. You added that bullying “wasn’t your intent,” but calling band members “dorks” is name-calling and something you’d expect from elementary school, not a CBS Sports talk show host. I don’t understand why your comment was necessary and what you were expecting by posting it to your 1.3 million Twitter followers.

Now you’ve given these followers the ammunition to mock people who can

1. A) memorize a 10-minute show,
2. B) march in perfect lines and arcs, and
3. C) play while doing so in sync with several other musicians in front of hundreds of people.

The account @AggieAlc even proposed to start a “pro-bullying campaign.” As a professional, you should know better than to post something like that. I’d suggest as a New Year’s resolution you take the time to watch Spider-Man and learn a lesson from good old Uncle Ben: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Lucky for you, we band students have proven we have tough, tanned skin from the hours we spend out in the summer practicing and marching, and we don’t put up with comments like yours.

Rome is burning, and deleting your post won’t get you out of the flames.