Delta bans hero who shot Osama, NYT editor says the hero doesn’t know how to sacrifice

Retired Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill, the man who shot Osama bin Laden, was banned from Delta Airlines for taking a selfie without a mask. He had his mask in his lap at the time and it was only a joke. He took the mask off for a few minutes — only.

THE STORY

Former Team Six member Robert J. O’Neill wrote Thursday on Twitter that he had been banned for posting a since-deleted photo Wednesday of himself on a Delta flight without a “dumb ass” mask, saying he wasn’t wearing one because “I’m not a p—y.”

That caused Delta to ban him, he said.

Mr. O’Neill said he only took the mask off for the photo and was just joking. Shouldn’t Delta have asked him about it before they banned him?

The public opinion was varied.

“I just banned @Delta. Next time someone hijacks one of your planes and flies it into a building, don’t ask Seal Team Six to find who did it,” wrote one account identified as that of a Los Angeles Kings hockey fan.

The mask-obsessed on Twitter condemned Mr. O’Neill for taking his mask off for a few minutes.

Times editor Dan Salzstein actually claimed the man who killed bin Laden can’t sacrifice. “I don’t know this guy but: counterpoint, you might just be because you’re not willing to sacrifice and be a little uncomfortable for your fellow humans (including that marine behind you)!”

That is so wrong.

Later, Saltzstein deleted the tweet and apologized badly, saying, “I deleted a previous version of this tweet because I broke my own rule about name-calling. So let me try again: I honor O’Neill for his sacrifices to his country and his heroism. It’s sad that he can’t extend the same for the safety of his fellow passengers.”

Mr. O’Neill was only joking and he only took it off for a few minutes. Salzstein, shape up. You are with the right newspaper though.

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