Following up on the teenager who refused to apologize for tweeting disparaging remarks about Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback… Yahoo! News:

Hundreds of people have left negative comments on Brownback’s Facebook Thanksgiving message. "The imperial Gov needs to go to the school, apologize to the assembled students and then apologize in person to the young lady," one person wrote.

In a comment to the Kansas City Star last week, Brownback’s communications director stood behind the decision to notify Sullivan’s principal. "That wasn’t respectful," Sherriene Jones-Sontag told the paper. "In order to really have a constructive dialogue, there has to be mutual respect."

But Brownback submitted a statement Monday afternoon to Yahoo! News apologizing to the teen. "My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms," he said. Jones-Sontag told Yahoo! that the governor has no plans to personally reach out to Sullivan.

His full statement:

“My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms. I enjoyed speaking to the more than 100 students who participated in the Youth in Government Program at the Kansas Capitol. They are our future. I also want to thank the thousands of Kansas educators who remind us daily of our liberties, as well as the values of civility and decorum. Again, I apologize for our over-reaction”