The role of social media in college athletics
With recent events being in the news:
1. Schiano deal to UT is pulled due to backlash
2. Mgoblog posts being disabled
I'm curious what everyone thinks about the role of social media (Twitter, message boards, snapchat, etc..) in college athletics going forward? I find it fascinating that backlash (right or wrong) essentially killed a coaching hire at a P5 school.
I'm certainly guilty of being an ass, posting stuff I shouldn't, etc.. If you were the coach of a big time university, would you outlaw social media with your team? Is there any benefit to Joe Schmo having a direct pipeline via Twitter to your team members?
Could you ignore it if you were an AD? Hell, even the talking heads full of hot takes in the media - is this a true game changer in how long a coach has to 'prove their worth'?
November 26th, 2017 at 9:50 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
but OSU's wacko segment and their "hate" is over the top. Tennessee appears to be giving them a run for their money though.
November 26th, 2017 at 9:52 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 11:53 PM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 8:22 AM ^
What specifically happened?
November 27th, 2017 at 10:01 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:48 AM ^
Wow. Not a good look.
That really is a "Quit drinking and go to bed" kind of comment.
I always thought Brian - Mr. Rational Let The Facts Do The Talking - was above rolling around in the mud with an RCMB-type person.
Guess not.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:39 AM ^
I'm OK with Brian turning off comments for 24 hours following a loss, if that's what he wants to do. But that reply is really bad.
November 27th, 2017 at 1:18 PM ^
That's hideous. Losses in emotional games bring out the worst in everyone, but I'm sure in the not-too-distant future Brian will look back at that and wish he could have a do-over.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:00 AM ^
Yeah, that's a clown thing to do. I expect better. Maybe I shouldn't.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:05 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 11:16 AM ^
Between that post and Ace claiming the worst thing about Michigan football is the fan base
I may be splitting hairs here, but to me, Brian taking an unprovoked potshot at a Twituser's g/f is inexcusably low-class while Ace grousing about the fanbase in aggregate is more of a general frustration and blowing off steam - not really equivalent things. Should Ace have groused about how annoying our fanbase can be on Tweeter? Probably not (shrug) Was it an understandable and excusable lapse on judgement in the moment? Sure. Can't really say that about Brian's cheap shot - that's just fucking juvenile and there's no defense for that.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:54 AM ^
And maybe it's a wee bit hypocritical of me to be criticizing here since goodness knows I've groused about some of the comments here and agreed with the temporary comment ban but taking a potshot at the dude's SO in his twitter profile was 100% bush league and Brian absolutely has to be better than that as a professional(-ish) blogrunner. I'm sure that being on Twitter Saturday night was a) an unfortunate side effect of his job as a blogrunner and b) a fucking miserable slopbath in the dregs of humanity but there's no excuse to be so low-class like that - *especially* to someone who wasn't even part of the brouhaha.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
He needs better judgment and a thicker skin here.
Either restrict MGoBlog to a handful of paid, cherry-picked users that echo the preferred decorum, or deal with the side effect of idiot users that comes with every widely-viewed internet site.
There is nothing unique here.
It's a bit naive to brag about the high CPMs that come with a mass-appeal site . . . and then be shocked that some of them are not Mensa members.
It goes with the territory you chose, you have to come up with a way to deal with it without freaking out.
November 26th, 2017 at 9:57 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 10:09 PM ^
Makes it easy to express an extreme view with rare accountability.
This. It tends to amplify because it's immediate. I'm not a big fan of Facebook or Twitter, but I recognize it's here to stay.
November 26th, 2017 at 10:11 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 10:11 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^
is a bit nutty, and also has a running vendetta against Mike McQueary.
That said --- he's generally RIGHT on this one.
November 26th, 2017 at 10:30 PM ^
Do not link John Ziegler as a credible source. I know you want to exonerate Schiano because OSU claims to have vetted Schiano after this came out and cleared him. But Ziegler is a crackpot who desparate PSU fans reference in the defense of their god Joe Paterno. A little reading on him: https://deadspin.com/who-is-this-paterno-apologist-who-keeps-making-an-…
Though OSU also hired an OC who supposedly forced injured players to play and risk further injury before being suddenly fired under suspicious circumstances. So, I wonder how thorough their vetting is.
November 26th, 2017 at 10:34 PM ^
the various claims against Paterno, Spanier, et al ...... those claims had some definite "meat" behind them.
Spanier, of course, is now a convicted criminal --- proof in itself of the veracity of the original claims.
These claims against Schiano really don't have the same level of rigor or "meat." It's fair to say so.
November 26th, 2017 at 10:54 PM ^
is that if you or I went into a job interview, and the prospective employer knew of sworn (under oath) deposition testimony implicating a crime, they just would not extend the job offer.
And if they extended the job offer, but later became aware of the sworn testimony, they would withdraw the offer or dismiss if you had already started the job.
That is how things work for regular people. Should football coaches (or people who are really highly paid in general) get special or different treatment?
November 26th, 2017 at 11:11 PM ^
From my experience .... a smaller shop (vs. a big corporation) is more likely to still extend the job offer. And the less high-profile the job itself, the more likely a job offer.
I get it from the UT POV. It's not worth the hassle. And Schiano --- if the rest of his coaching career is being a defensive coordinator with no further chances at being a head coach, he'll still be well compensated for such. He and his family have no fear of going hungry. He will still have a better monetary situation than 95%+ of us.
In the end, I just honestly hope Schiano did not do what was said in the deposition. Only he (and Tom Bradley ... and God, if one is spirtual) knows for sure.
November 26th, 2017 at 11:34 PM ^
What I see is that for almost all employees or job applicants, employers will just move on to the next candidate. The job candidate or job holder is sort of fungible and it is easier to just go to the next resume in the stack.
The ones that get special treatment are the very top income people. If they bring in big $$$ then accusations are subject to high and rigorous standards of proof.
And even if certain types of wrongdoing (not child molestation or covering it up, but sexual harasssment, etc.) seems likley, they will find a way to keep the employee.
November 26th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 10:44 PM ^
Think he would have been a TERRIBLE hire for UT.
But the PSU link, with a former QB who SHOULD HAVE CALLED POLICE 9-1-1 trying to use the he said that he said that he said is goofy.
This was a protest against a BAD HIRE not a morally bad hire.
2007 hire should have been Les Miles - maybe UT will give Les another shot.
Why is Les not being offered a job by anyone? Age alone isn't enough.
November 26th, 2017 at 11:00 PM ^
Maybe the market views him as a coach that underperformed his roster talent a lot. Ot at least as a guy that underperformed pretty consistently on the offensive side of the ball.
Admittedly, by the W-L numbers, he had a lot of success.
But no one thinks he is an offensive genius.
And as far as defense goes, LSU had a lot of teams with very good Ds, but maybe that is mostly down to DC John Chavis and having a great roster.
November 26th, 2017 at 11:24 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 11:25 PM ^
November 26th, 2017 at 11:42 PM ^
is how insanely out of touch the AD/coaching community/national writers were with actual fans. I don't know if Schiano hire would have touched off that kind of reaction in EVERY fanbase, but I don't see it being too different. People do not want their team led by people who have ties to that era of Penn State (well, except Penn State fans over 40, but they're sick). Saying "well it was hearsay" is all well and good until you realize there was exactly one coach from that era who was willing to speak openly in court about anything that went on in that era, while everyone else ran and hid. The accusation that Schiano saw something and didn't pass it along to authorities didn't get refuted by him under oath, everyone just refused to corroborate it.
That's hardly ironclad. It's hardly confusing to see why a fanbase, particularly one that just saw their dept have settle a multi million dollar sexual harrassment lawsuit, would want to be associated with that. And even if you would be willing to say "hey it's hearsay, we can't doom a guy off that" he was accused of some pretty heinous shit as Tampa Bay coach. Multiple violations of the collective barganing agreement regarding player health and safety. This is not a guy whose behavior has induced you to give him benefits of the doubt. He is a good football coach. I guess that and other high profile coaches vouching for him is enough for ADs and writers like Wolken, but that doesn't really fly with normal people.
And on top of all that, this is the AD who tried to force Bill Snyder out of Kansas State so he could replace him with JIM FUCKIN LEAVITT, the guy who assaulted a player at USF. I mean my God, what has happened to these people? How did it get THIS bad where even the sporting press will cover for this kind of madness?
November 27th, 2017 at 2:46 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 7:59 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 8:46 AM ^
whether it is because Schiano was an enabler and / or he wasn't a good enough choice coach wise for Tennessee's fanbase. Not sure we know all the facts yet but the OP's interesting point is the power of social media in sports. Heck, just look at our last Presidential election.
Schiano denied the allegation made in the hearsay (this is a legal term) deposition but I have not seen that that was under oath. Do you have a source for this? I belief the deposition was made public a year and half ago. Certainly the best thing would be for all accused " that knew",including Schiano to make their case under oath. In the meantime, if I were a supporter of PSU or Ohio State, I would want further clarification from Schiano now.
Finally, OSU basically has no problem with people who had ties to Penn State during the Sandusky years. Larry Johnson was a key member of that staff and OSU's current staff. Difference is they believe Urban Meyer's vouching for him. If Urban weren't so successful on the field, perhaps that wouldn't be the case?
November 27th, 2017 at 8:26 AM ^
This isn't true. If Schiano were so "toxic" why is he DC at OSU and why is he recruiting like gangbusters (and out recruiting Harbaugh and Don Brown)? To add insult to injury, their DL coach is... Larry Johnson Sr. (also there with Schiano and Sandusky).
Parents don't have a problem sending their kids (who have their pick, since they are 4* & 5* guys) to play under Schiano & Johnson.
UT fans don't want Schiano, because they expect Chip Kelly or as a worst case Dan Mullen. They want a top tier coach, not a guy who's only claim to fame is making Rutgers not suck.
Also, PSU fans (both over & under 40) don't care about Sandusky anymore. They don't talk about it and don't care that it happened.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:17 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 1:16 AM ^
Problem is, people will use it to hide behind and put out a lot of crap...
November 27th, 2017 at 9:26 AM ^
No person is so intelligent as the one that agrees with you. So if you start on a rant about JOK and then another person joins in you can attract a ton of people.
Also, bad information can spread ridiculously fast, with similar weight to good informaiton because many (myself included) don't always vet things like they should.
Then there are the trolls.
Overall, I think that jury is still out as to whether social media has been good for sports (or politics. Or human interaction in general).
Of course, my brother says I'm going to end up in a cabin in Montana with a '75 Duster (slant 6), old Dodge Truck (318), wood fired stove, books, and no electricity. So caveat emptor.
November 27th, 2017 at 7:08 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 7:59 AM ^
If there was ever a philosophical argument that Mankind is essentially good . . . the internet has proven that wrong.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:07 AM ^
is that the site would 404 after games like Saturday's. Now, it actually works - and is the worse for it.
November 27th, 2017 at 8:59 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^
Need to find a better way to deal with it than that. People will just eventually go elsewhere.
After a loss is when you want to discuss "what happend" the most. It's one of the main reasons people come here.
If there are idiots - and yes there are - shutting down all discussion every game is too crude of a tool.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
I think Brian was looking out for his mods - what comments I saw later (evidently prior to the shutdown) were sickening. I swear some people are in need of therapy. Spewing hate doesn't do anything but raise everyone's stress level at a time where some discussion with fellow bloggers would have been welcome. The trolling element has clearly dragged down the board quality this year - so many people have commented to this effect.
What to do? Outside of a shutdown, the idiot train needs to be disabled. 100 points is way too low of a threshold - should be set higher so they can't start crap threads and look for other trolls to upvote. It's so blatant when a new account posts some inane comment that immediately gets 8 upvotes. I used to lurk here for several years prior to creating an account and it seems that this year is the worst. Changing the point structure would make a huge difference. That and sending more people to Bolivia.
November 27th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
I don't understand why people are allowed to upvote their own posts, especially when an upvote earns two points and a downvote only one. I would eliminate that feature and not allow posters to vote at all for their first 30 days.
November 27th, 2017 at 11:29 AM ^
November 27th, 2017 at 9:44 AM ^
As a victimless crime, a "venting" that they are somehow entitled to do. The crap trickles over to all the different medias and players, coaches, families have to deal with it. Not at all victimless...
Social media is what it is, and it isn't going anywhere, but people would be way better off if they spoke on social media the way they would if someone was right in front of them.
As for the game, JOK played the best his abilities would allow him to do, and he was Michigan's best QB choice for the game. Recognize that and move on. Better days are ahead.
November 27th, 2017 at 9:51 AM ^
I love to be able to follow recruiting and what's going on with my team. At the same, it gives a lot of people a voice and chance to be heard that have nothing noteworthy to say. Often times the loudest voices are the least informed and logical.
November 27th, 2017 at 10:04 PM ^