Twitter suspended Reynolds' account, but restored it shortly after and told him to delete the tweet in order to be allowed to use Twitter again. The University of Tennessee released a statement that it was investigating Reynolds as it does not condone language that encourages violence. On September 27, 2016, the law school's Dean Melanie Wilson issued a statement to announce that the University had ended its short-lived investigation with a recommendation that no disciplinary action be taken. Dean Wilson wrote that Reynolds' tweet "... was an exercise of his First Amendment rights. Nevertheless, the tweet offended many members of our community and beyond, and I understand the hurt and frustration they feel." "USA Today" said that Reynolds had violated the newspaper's standards and suspended his column for one month. Reynolds issued an apology at the request of "USA Today" saying: