Photo courtesy of Regis Velez ’20 | The varsity football team sets up for a play against Liberty.

By Kaidan Linse ’20

THE ROUNDUP

Following a 38-13 loss at Utah, Mike Leach, the head coach of the Washington State Cougars football team, enforced a social media ban for his players, according to the Yakima Herald. It was Washington State’s third loss in a row to start the season.

Leach, the head coach of the Washington State Cougars football team, called his players “fat, dumb, and happy” and said being “entitled is no way to go through life” in a press conference following the loss at Utah.

Leach believes Washington State’s losing streak was due to “too many distractions.”

“I think we’re a little distracted right now, but I think there is a teamwide determination to be less distracted,” said Leach.

This is not the first instance of a college coach who has implemented a social media ban for their players. Many coaches ask their players to turn off social media apps such as Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat over the course of the season.

A timely and more recent example of this would be the Chicago Bears, an NFL team, who were in a four-game losing skid since the end of September. However, instead of their coach enforcing a social media ban, the players stepped forward.

Anthony Miller, a Bears wide receiver, said that “[social media] is not something that bothers [him].”

In response to the harsh online critics commenting on the Bear’s sub-par performance, Miller says, “I could talk back all day, but I’ve learned that that’s a waste of time, and there are bigger things to focus on.”

Another Bears wide receiver, Taylor Gabriel, said “staying off your phone” and “staying off social media” can be the remedy to regain focus and turn their losing skid around.

Since everyone is on social media in today’s world, Gabriel says, “It’s about being focused and playing through that, because that’s our job. Everyone’s going to have their opinion about everything.”

The main disadvantage of using social media for athletes and sports teams alike seems to be a lack of focus.

Brophy’s varsity football team has a more unspoken rule about social media during the football season.

“Since freshman year, Brophy has always reminded us about what we post online,” said John Grindey ’20.

“Being a part of the football team is no different. I think we all know not to post or say anything online that we would regret,” Grindey said.

Grindey said coach Mr. Jason Jewell has done a good job reminding the team about what we can and cannot post online.

“Coach hasn’t specifically laid out any rules on what we can and can’t post, but he has talked to the team multiple times on being cognizant of what we are posting, and that we should focus on us and lifting us up rather than down,” Grindey says.