If it were a hiring mistake, wouldn't it have been letter to have let go of John? Is it really worth the risk just for linkbait? Even extreme self-promotion do

If it were a hiring mistake, wouldn't it have been letter to have let go of John? Is it really worth the risk just for linkbait? Even extreme self-promotion doesn't go this far. People may be bad at calculating risks, but the risk of negative PR is one that we seldom underestimate.