Former Rockets employee talks about tweet that got him fired

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In a tweet Tuesday night, a Houston Rockets employee rubbed the Dallas Mavericks nose in it after the Rockets booted the Mavs from the playoffs.

That employee behind the tweet, Chad Shanks, was fired Wednesday, and now, we're hearing from him for the first time.

The tweet read, 'Shhhhh. Just close your eyes. It will all be over soon,' with emojis of a gun and a horse, which created the backlash.

"The problem with running a team social account instead of your personal account is that it's taken as the view of the organization," said Shanks. "Mr. (Les) Alexander is very animal-friendly. That was not my intent. I didn't think people would think we literally wanted to go out and shoot horses. I was trying to make a playful jab at the Mavs and the only people I wanted to be upset by it were Mavs' fans."

Shanks admits it backfired. He says he has no regrets, nor does he have any bitterness, saying he'll continue to be a Rockets fan. He even has fans of his own now, who are trying to get the Rockets to hire him back. They've starting using the hashtag #BringBackChad.

A response came from the Mavericks' twitter account after the ones Shanks sent from the Rockets. It called the tweet classless, but said the Mavs were still wishing the Rockets good luck in the playoffs.