Mora wants Rosen to balance independent thinking and social responsibility
UCLA coach Jim Mora wants quarterback Josh Rosen to have fun in college. But he also wants Rosen to know the ramifications of his social media postings.
Rosen, who Mora has previously said could be the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL draft had he been eligible, isn’t shy on Twitter and Instagram. Pictures of a hot tub in his dorm room during the 2015 season were posted to Instagram (the hot tub was removed days later, sadly) and he posted a picture of himself playing golf at a Donald Trump-owned course this spring with a hat that wasn’t too nice to the Republican presidential candidate.
He also expressed his not-so-positive thoughts about UCLA’s Under Armour apparel deal and his status as an amateur athlete on a now-deleted Instagram post in May. The Bruins’ deal with UA is nearly $300 million over 15 years.
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So here’s what Mora said Friday at Pac-12 Media Days when he was asked about Rosen’s public expressions. It’s a very nuanced and rational take as the coach could have easily said he didn’t want his players on social media at all.
“The hot tub I found amusing,” Mora said. “I thought it was a young college student having a little bit of fun. You know, the Donald Trump tweet and then the NCAA tweet, we had conversations about that and about the appearance, about the image that he’s projecting for himself and for his University. But I’ll tell you this: UCLA has a long history going back to Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar, who was Lew Alcindor at the time, and Bill Walton, of having people on their campus that are socially aware and not afraid to rattle the cage a little bit.”
“I just want to make sure that Josh understands that this is a different world and that everything that he does say is being analyzed and sometimes overanalyzed, and that he’s making good decisions and thinking twice before he speaks once, and more for his future than anything else. But he’s a young man, and he’s got his own thoughts, and we want to encourage that. But at the same time we want to be socially responsible”
Rosen threw for 3,669 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as a freshman in 2015.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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