CNN suspends contributor Roland Martin for offensive tweets

ATLANTA (WXIA) - CNN said Wednesday it had suspended commentator Roland Martin after what they called offensive Twitter messages he had posted over the weekend.

During the Super Bowl on Sunday, Martin posted tweets some considered to be homophobic which caught the ire of many on the internet.

After H&M's ad featuring underwear-clad professional soccer player David Beckham aired, Martin tweeted, "If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham's H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him! #superbowl"

Martin's Twitter comment led to organizations like GLAAD and others calling on CNN to fire Martin. In the hours following his initial tweet, Martin tried to backpedal insisting that his comments were geared toward a soccer-versus-football argument, but the damage was done.

In other tweets, Martin made similar disparaging statements via Twitter regarding a New England Patriots fan in a pink skin-tight suit.

Wednesday afternoon, CNN released a statement that said Martin would not be seen on the network at this point.

"Roland Martin's tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being."

There is no word on when - or even if - Martin's suspension will be lifted.