Athletes, journalists and celebrities, proceed cautiously with your social media profile
By Jeff Twining
It is no secret that print journalism is being replace by online journalism. When I heard that in 2012 online advertising will surpass print advertising I was hardly surprised; in fact I was surprised it hadn’t happened before. As a journalist, I am not afraid of the industry disappearing altogether because there will always be news to report. No, as a journalist I’m afraid of the direction the industry is heading. The instant accessibility of the internet creates more or a demand for news because people don’t have to wait to get the newspaper in the morning to find out what’s going on – or at least what went on.
Thanks in large part to the accessibility of the internet and the speed in which one can gather information and disseminate it to the masses, being the first to “break” a story has largely become what sports journalism is all about. It’s no longer about the craft of “writing” but about the craft of “reporting.” Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is not necessarily for me to decide because clearly, with millions of people on Twitter, this form of “journalism” is not going anywhere.
At the same time, and with the way social media sites are structured, college athletes instantly become celebrities. Instead of turning to a newspaper or magazine to read a feature on your favorite athlete you can just follow him or her on Twitter or subscribe to their Facebook page (or friend them if you are lucky). When the wall between athletes and fans starts to crumble that is when the problems begin.
On the verge of signing day, ESPN.com posted a story about the rise of social media as it relates to recruiting. Often, conversations about advancements in recruiting communication techniques focuses on coach’s inabilities to grasp advancing technology or those at the forefront who exceed because of their “social media profile.”
However, more often than not problems surrounding athletes and twitter has less to do with coaches not grasping advanced technology, but on the athletes themselves not understanding advancements in technology. Being on Facebook and Twitter is no longer a privilage young people enjoy and old people don’t understand. There is no gap between young and old when it comes to social media and if you are going to use social media, you need to fully understand the merits and consequences.
Not having a firm grasp on Twitter cost former Don Bosco Prep defensive back Yuri Wright a potential scholarship to football powers Michigan and Notre Dame. Wright is still only a senior in high school, but I describe him as a “former Don Bosco Prep defensive back” because major mental lapses, in the form of sexually and racially inappropriate tweets, instigated his expulsion from the Catholic prep school in New Jersey.
Now, as Wright enrolls in a public school just so he can graduate and make it to college, he traded in a scholarship to Michigan for one with Pac-12 bottom-feeder Colorado. Normally, the Buffaloes should be proud to have secured a committment from the No. 40 high school recruit in ESPNU’s top 150. But with the baggage Wright brings and the immaturity he displayed, the Buffaloes are actually the ones taking the risk.
I don’t understand how anybody thinks it’s appropriate to tweet things such as “I need some pussy tonight man…” or “imma marry me a bad ass white woman someday” or even “Its like I need pussy everyday to be satisfied going to school with a whole bunch of guys sucks I be in class day dreaming bout the craziest shit….” These are not things that anoybody should be tweeting, let alone a high school athlete hoping to land a scholarship to a top-notch college program as Wright did. These tweets were only part of a series of tweets to Wright posted that caused Michigan to pull his scholarship offer.
Wright should have known better. In fact it’s gotten to the point where everybody on Twitter should know the consequences of ill-advised tweets. Just as those searching for jobs need to understand that employers will research Facebook and Twitter pages to get inside information on the employee. This isn’t just inside information, it’s an in-depth look at what type of person the potential employee is. Now, coaches are doing the same things to gather information on potential recruits. As much as the NCAA promotes their “student-athlete” mantra, any collegiate sport – specifically football – is damn near a full-time job. I only played football at a Division II football program but because of the time committment I was unable to get a real job. Athletes need to start treating the recruiting process more like a job hunt than a courtship.
"Wright told ESPN.com this week he’s learned his lesson, and is “grateful” that Colorado coach Jon Embree gave him a second chance.“Hopefully, other people will learn from what happened to me and make smarter choices,” Wright said. “My days with social media are over, I promise. No more Twitter. No more Facebook. I have a phone, and if I want to talk to someone now, I’m just calling or texting them.”"
Sure, Wright says he is done with social media. But just as college freshman vow to never drink again after a hard weekend of partying, I’m sure Wright will eventually be back on Twitter. Hopefully he is able to heed his own advice and make better decisions.
CBSSports.com Gaffe
If you were one of the millions of college football fans who paid attention to the recent death of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno you are probably aware that the Twitter-world exploded, albeit a bit prematurely, when “official word” announced Paterno had died.
That official word came in the form of a CBSSports.com tweet that confirmed, based on reliable sources, that Paterno had died. Only a short time later was it revealed by Paterno’s son Jay that his father had not yet passed away. CBS Sports had picked up an Onward State report without attributing the source for the news. In the end, the false report cost the managing editor at Onward State his job (he resigned) as well as instigated the firing of CBS Sports Adam Jacobi.
Thanks to the instant access of the internet and Twitter two people lost their jobs.
Strahan Can’t Take Criticism
In another Twitter-related gaffe this past week, Michael Strahan should be thankful that Fox’s coverage of the NFL season has taken a break before the Super Bowl. Strahan did not take kindly to being criticized on Twitter for poor grammar.
Strahan, like millions before him and millions after, used the wrong form of you’re. Instead he said your. Honest mistake, one which he should be able to find humorous because who hasn’t made that mistake before.
Instead, Strahan got his jock-strap all twisted when a female follower called him out on it. He responded by sending the critic an inappropriate direct message suggesting: “Get YOUR dads dick out of YOUR mouth!! YOUR shows possession….. Trick!” He then proceeded to tell the female that based on her avatar pic she looks like she retains a lot of water in her face.
To quote ESPN and Monday Night Countdown, “Come on man.” Any celebrity or television personality should know that nothing is secret, especially when it comes to social media and the internet. I get it, you sent her a direct message so it wouldn’t show up on somebody’s Twitter timeline. Unfortunately it ended up on Deadspin first, and now on SaturdayBlitz.com
These are just three instances of Twitter-gone-awry. Hopefully others will proceed cautiously when it comes to their social media profile.