Staff members at the Washington Post have rallied behind a journalist who was suspended after posting a tweet in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s death that focused on allegations of sexual assault against the late NBA player.

The newspaper’s media critic Erik Wemple described the move as “misguided” in an opinion piece posted on the outlet's own website, as the Washington Post Guild — a union representing 1,000 editorial staff at the publication — expressed “alarm and dismay” at the decision in an open letter to the top editors.

“We understand the hours after Bryant’s death Sunday were a fraught time to share reporting about past accusations of sexual assault,” the Post Guild wrote in its letter to executive editor Marty Baron and managing editor Tracy Grant. “The loss of such a beloved figure, and of so many other lives, is a tragedy. But we believe it is our responsibility as a news organization to tell the public the whole truth as we know it — about figures and institutions both popular and unpopular, at moments timely and untimely.”

Felicia Sonmez, national political reporter for the Washington Post, tweeted a Daily Beast article from 2016 on Sunday which detailed the sexual assault allegations against Bryant, including a 2003 rape accusation. Along with a link to the article, she wrote its headline titled: “Kobe Bryant’s Disturbing Rape Case: The DNA Evidence, the Accuser’s Story, and the Half-Confession.”

She then said in a follow-up tweet that thousands of people had sent her comments and emails “with abuse and death threats”, adding: “Any public figure is worth remembering in their totality even if that public figure is beloved and that totality is unsettling.”

Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures NBA legend Kobe Bryant died, aged 41, in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Sunday 26 January 2020. Four other passengers were killed in the crash, the LA County Sherrif Department have confirmed. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant dunking the ball at his Lower Merion, Pa. high school gym during a practice in 1996. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant, 17, smiles as he holds his Los Angeles Lakers jersey in 1996. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant drives to the basket during a Lakers pre-season victory over the Dallas Mavericks in 1996. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Waiting to appear in his first-ever NBA game in 1996. He was the NBA's youngest ever player at the time. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant winning the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) He remains the the youngest ever winner. AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Shaquille O'Neal puts his arms around teammates, Elden Campbell and Kobe Bryant as they return to play the Houston Rockets in 1999. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) The arrival of Phil Jackson kick-started the Lakers to true contention. AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant's image overlooks the Staples Center arena after the Lakers won the NBA Championship against the Indiana Pacers in 2000. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant celebrates from atop a doubledecker bus during the Lakers victory parade in 2000. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant jumps over a row of fans after saving the ball from going out of bounds in the second half of the Lakers 107-101 win over the Houston Rockets in 2001. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant watching the clock run down in the final seconds of their Western Conference semi-final against the San Antonio Spurs in 2002. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant would form one of the most potent one-two punches in NBA history alongside Shaquille O'Neal, winning three titles in a row from 2000 to 2002. The pair later publicly feuded and O'Neal left. AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Sitting next to his MVP trophy he received at the 51st NBA All-Star game in 2002. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant was accused of sexual assault in 2003. The charges were later dropped and a civil suit was settled out of court. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Braynt changed from the No 8 to the No 24 in 2006. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant goes up for a shot between the Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, left, and Al Jefferson in 2006. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant attends a gathering with his fans in Shanghai during his Supernatural Asia Tour 2007. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant was named the league MVP in the 2007-08 season. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Winning his first Olympic gold medals as part of Team USA in 2008. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant jumps for a rebound during a playoff game in 2009. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Celebrating the 2008-09 title win, a series where he was named Finals MVP. AFP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) He celebrated the Lakers 2009 victory with his family. AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) US President Barack Obama shares a laugh with Kobe Bryant during a ceremony honoring the 2009 NBA basketball champions at the White House. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant smiles as he carries his daughter Gianna after the Lakers 2009 victory parade. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Most valuable players Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal from the West team up the trophy at the NBA All-Star in 2009. EPA Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Winning the title for the second year in a row, Bryant was again named Finals MVP after an epic seven-game series against the Boston Celtics. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Smiling with daughters Gianna and Natalia with the MVP Trophy after his team defeated the Boston Celtics in 2010. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant slam dunks against the Sacramento Kings in 2011. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Playing with a ball during a sponsor's appearance in Milan in 2011. He moved to Italy when he was six, after his father retired from NBA to play basketball at a lower level. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Dwight Howard, and Steve Nash, arrived in 2012 but the pair struggled to gel and although the team made the play-offs they lost in the first round. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant dunking the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the Western Conference Semifinals in 2012. EPA Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant went to support the US women's side at the 2012 Olympics Games against France, the day before his own final. AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant went on to win his second Olympic gold at the London Games. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant is injured in one of the last games of 2012-13, the first of a series of injuries that saw his powers fade dramatically in his final three seasons. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Daughter Natalia sitting on his shoulders during a practice session for the NBA All-Star basketball game in 2013. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Speaking after announcing retirement in December 2015. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Bryant in his 18th and final All-Star game in Toronto. He was named starter for every appearance, a record. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Taking his final ever shot - a free throw - late in the fourth quarter to score his 60th point against the Utah Jazz and his last at Staples Center. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Balloons and confetti rain on the court following Kobe Bryant's final game as a Laker in 2016. AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant retires after 20 years with the LA Lakers - the only player in NBA history to spend that long with the same franchise. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant watches a tribute at AT&T Center in 2016. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) With his family and city officials Bryant was honored at a council meeting with Kobe Bryant Day in 2016. With the date commemorating the 2 numbers, 8 and 24, he wore on his Lakers jersey AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) in Haikou in China's southern Hainan province on September 12, In 2017 he attended basketball teaching activities, as part of an announcement that China's first NBA basketball school was to be opened. He believed it would improve the game in the country. AFP via Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Both Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers jerseys, number 8 and 24, were are retired in 2017. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Kobe Bryant with the Best Animated Short Film Award for "Dear Basketball" in 2018. Reuters Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) With daughter Gianna at the US national championships swimming meet in 2018. He regularly took his children to watch other sporting events. AP Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) As a World Cup ambassador, Kobe Bryant, was part of the Basketball World Cup draw in Shenzhen in 2019. Getty Kobe Bryant: Career in pictures Kobe Bryant (1978-2020) Present at the finals he presented the 2019 World Cup MVP to Spain's Ricky Rubio Getty

Ms Sonmez continued: “That folks are responding with rage [and] threats toward me (someone who didn’t even write the piece but found it well-reported) speaks volumes about the pressure people come under to stay silent in these cases.”

The journalist was subsequently suspended from her role at the Post, with reporting from the New York Times saying she received an email from Mr Baron which read: “A real lack of judgment to tweet this. Please stop. You're hurting this institution by doing this."

Ms Grant then echoed those comments in a public statement on Monday, saying Ms Sonmez’ tweets “displayed poor judgement that undermined the work of her colleagues."

But the suspension caused swift backlash throughout the media, with other prominent reporters and editors slamming the paper for removing Ms Sonmez during an apparent onslaught of harassment.

Olivia Nuzzi, Washington correspondent for New York Magazine, wrote in a tweet: “News organizations should protect their journalists, not acquiesce to the mob when it comes for them. The Washington Post not only failed Felicia Sonmez, but set a dangerous precedent.”

The move was also condemned as “outrageous” by Yashar Ali, a contributor to HuffPost and New York Magazine with over half a million Twitter followers.

“You don’t even have to agree with @FeliciaSonmez tweets to agree that for her to be suspended for tweeting out a newsstory and then talking about being harassed for her tweets is an insane reaction,” he wrote.

Ms Sonmez later deleted the tweets after reportedly receiving an email from Ms Grant that said she’d be “in violation of a directive from a managing editor” if she kept them on her profile.

She then checked into a hotel while fearing for her safety back at home, according to the Mr Wemple’s report, when she learned in a phone call with Ms Grant that she was being immediately placed on administrative leave.

The media critic also wrote that “if journalists at The Post are prone to suspension for tweeting stories off their beats, the entire newsroom should be on administrative leave.”