College Coaches' Paranoia Over Social Media & "Internet People"
by Nestor on Aug 9, 2010 6:36 AM PDT
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PrintCouple of interesting clips to take note of this Monday. Boise State's Chris Petersen is banning his players from using Twitter during the season:
The Idaho Statesman is reporting that Boise State coach Chris Petersen has banned players from posting on Twitter for the duration of the football season.
Petersen says posting on the social networking site is a distraction the team doesn't need as the Broncos enter the season as favorites to win another Western Athletic Conference title.
About a dozen players have been regular users of Twitter, but they tell the Statesman they understand the Twitter ban.
I guess I can understand it. However, I think a better course would have been educating those players about how to responsibly used the medium. Perhaps their department has no clue itself. Meanwhile, Urban Meyer is on on a jihad against "internet people":
Meyer said his staff is vigilantly protecting players from "internet people" and "scumbags" by closing practices.
"We can’t live the players’ lives, but we can certainly do the best we can," he said Thursday. "You should have the right as a player to walk from here to there without being bothered.
"When I tell my colleagues that you get dressed, you walk across and people just maul you and bother you and internet people grabbing helmets, ‘Sign this,’ and we don’t have security saying, ‘Get the heck out of here.’ You’ll see a lot more ‘get the heck out of here’ from now on and let the kids go practice and concentrate on football."
Meyer said the ever-growing media coverage of the team is not the problem. Instead, he is worried about interactions that could lead to future issues for the program.
Again, it seems like Meyer is misdirecting his fire. I understand his concern about protecting players from rogue agents. However, the references to "interent people" seems a little silly. It seems like drama that is really not needed and seems to be a distraction on its own. Then again Meyer is very well versed in creating drama that is really not needed given what we saw from him end of last season.
GO BRUINS.
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I am mixed on this
I think kids don’t understand that they are in the spotlight and their tweets can become an issue, even if it is just to friends. Educating them is a good idea and banning is a draconian solution but understandable.
For example, take Malcolm Lee’s “Caged Pit Bull”" comment last season. For the sake of argument, taking him at his word it was not about basketball, it did cause some problems that were not needed.
So I can understand banning because if you are in the limelight enough people are going to (mis)interpret your every word. However, kid’s have to learn as well. Tough call but I guess it is better to lecture them and let them do it.
You darn internet kids!
Fox, please insert the appropriate 1984 reference here.
Internet people “grabbing helmets”? WTF is Urban talking about? Sorry coach, when you make $4 million a year in a sport BECAUSE of all the coverage it gets, you do not get to complain about these things. If you want to toil in anonymity, you are welcome to change careers and become an actuary.
But hey, what do I know. I’m just the 800 lbs bruin in the room.
lol, tasser
I had the same reaction…how do “internet people” “grab helmets,” exactly? Aren’t they just online? Are they grabbing virtual helemets, or…aren’t they just, people—live human beings who are present, in person, after practices or something, acting like over-zealous fans?
This is actually making me laugh, which—on a Monday—is not a bad thing.
Love My Bruins
Gotta agree with the coaches on this one.
I have seen firsthand the problems that internet usage can cause for teams and players. I’ve seen athletes get in trouble with pictures posted on facebook. Also, these are immature young kids that don’t always have the judgment to refrain from posting inappropriate remarks on twitter, facebook, etc. (see Randall Carroll) Especially in light of remarks that have been made by some that the Bruins are “soft”, I think that players posting on these sites should be reserved for after the season is over. Then post all you want. During the season they need to be focusing on kicking SC’s ass! Just my two cents.
WWCD?
What would Coach do? I’m wondering whether Coach Wooden would have banned the distraction, or used the situation for teaching the players about life outside of basketball. I wasn’t around during his time to get a feel for how he’d treat it. Anyone with a working knowledge of both Coach and social media want to venture a guess?
In the immortal words of the pin I got while an undergrad: Roses are red, violets are blue...f*** $C.
We have at least two episodes to look at.
I think if Coach were still directly at the controls (not indirectly, as he always will be), he would determine what he thought would be best for the player, and make his decision. He thought it would be best for Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor, Jr., to have no press interviews, so that was his rule for Lewis Kareem. Bill Walton wanted to send a social message by way of the length of his hair. Coach let it be known that the best player in the country could send as many social messages as he wanted to send, but not as a member of the UCLA basketball team.
I think Coach would say no tweets or whatever they’re called.
Petersen
He’s probably just trying to crack down early – so if there is a debacle like last year, he can control all of the media flow. It’s obvious he’s a win at all cost guy, that doesn’t want to hurt any small chance he has at a championship.
Saban
Even mega control freak Saban allows players to Twitter. I heard an interview with Greg McElroy the other day where he said Saban prefers they keep it to stuff like what movies they’re watching or general “Yea! we won!”, but he doesn’t ban them from using it.
RollBamaRoll.com - Also check out my music blog: Hear the World, which is exploring the music of BULGARIA in July 2010.
Yeah
It wouldn’t be very difficult to draft up a specific set of team rules re. posting on social media. Saban’s approach seems pretty reasonable to me.
Disagree, N
It would be very, very simple to draft such a rule. How about this:
“1. There will be no posting on any social media by any player.
2. Any posting on any social media by any relative of any player about the team or any player will be deemed to have been posted by the player.
3. Any violation of these rules will subject the player to immediate dismissal from the team and loss of scholarship.”
Oh, but you say, how can you do that? What if they want to post something about their classes or their favorite music or about how the FIFA cup is going? I would give exactly the same answer that Coach gave to Bill Walton: “Your teammates will miss you.”
This isn’t a complex issue. It’s an arbitrary rule, like many other arbitrary rules that the players will encounter on campus and in life.
I think many of my brothers and sisters will perceive that I don’t do a heck of a lot of posting on social media. Heck, I sometimes can get through a meal without texting the person next to me. (Indeed, I am proud to say I have never texted anyone on my phone. My teenage nephew explained how it was absolutely vital to be able to text any time and all the time and in unlimited fashion. I have yet to see the need.)
I suspect that at UCLA, the rule would not be quite as draconian as mine. But to all those who think I’m a fogey in addition ot being a geezer, I have only one thing to say: “Your teammates will miss you.”
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