Sam Pittman is rightly fed up with football cyberbullying | Whitley
Before we get to this week’s picks, does anyone recall hearing, “Never say anything about a person behind their back that you wouldn’t say to their face”?
It was just a suggestion, one that gets trampled about 3.8 billion times a day on social media. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman reminded us of that this week.
“I just got sick of it,” he said.
Pittman shut down his Twitter/X account. The breaking point was when Arkansas punter Max Fletcher showed up at practice in a funk.
He’d shanked a couple of kicks in a loss to BYU. Keyboard warriors crucified him and Pittman, who tried to cheer up his player.
“I said, ‘Max, they didn’t say I’m fat on there, did they?’” Pittman recounted. “He said, ‘Yes sir.’ ‘What about my chest, did they say anything about that?’ He started smiling, he said ‘Yes sir.’
“I said, ‘Was I supposed to get fired on Sunday?’ He said, ‘Yes sir.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m still here. They got two out of three right.’”
Pittman didn’t say if his little talk helped. He could just tell his players to stay off their smartphones, but that’d be like telling them to stop breathing.
This is the first generation raised on social media. The problems that’s causing go far beyond football, but players are prime targets.
Their predecessors could turn off the radio or not read the newspaper after bad games. Now the vitriol can flood their social media accounts.
“It can spoil your day,” Pittman said.
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That’s why he’s taking a temporary break, though he knows it won’t really change anything. Given the ubiquity of social media, it’s hard to see a solution to this problem.
Well, there is that old saying about never saying anything about a person behind their back that you wouldn’t say to their face. It’s a shame that so few people are willing to give that a try.
Along those lines, I must now write things that might spoil the days of millions, if not dozens of readers. If you’re one of them, please feel free to call me fat and make fun of my chest size.
Florida at Kentucky: The Wildcats have played Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Akron, Vanderbilt and Luanne's Hairstyling Academy. We don’t know how good they are. We do know the Gators are sometimes good, sometimes bad. The pendulum swings back to good this weekend. Florida 23-17
Georgia at Auburn: College Football Nerds, a popular YouTube channel that uses a computer model to pick games, predicts Auburn will win 30.7 to 30.6. That’s based on Auburn’s rushing game and Georgia’s so-so run defense. My pick is based on Auburn not having a quarterback capable of completing a pass. Georgia 35.9-13.3
Missouri at Vanderbilt: To get everybody pumped, Vanderbilt is celebrating the 15th anniversary of its 2008 Music City Bowl win this weekend. That should be worth at least 0.49 points to the Commodores. Missouri 28-10.49
Notre Dame at Duke: This is so big that ESPN’s “College GameDay” will make its first visit to Duke. Not only that, Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman says that, unlike last Saturday against Ohio State, he will use all 11 players on defense this week. Notre Dame 27-17
Note: For all you cyberbullies out there, my chest size is 40, which is larger than that of every Vanderbilt lineman from 1979-2016.
Texas A&M vs. Arkansas: Speaking of fat-shaming, millions of fans have made fun of the size of Jimbo Fisher’s contract. My fat gut tells me more ridicule is on the way. Upset Special: Arkansas 24-21.
South Carolina at Tennessee: Scientists are still trying to determine how the Gamecocks beat the Vols 63-38 last year. Whatever the explanation, vengeance is due. Tennessee 63-38
Ryan Day vs. Lou Holtz: Day lit into Holtz after the 86-year-old ex-coach called Ohio State soft. I’m reserving judgment until the Buckeyes score a winning TD against an 11-man defense.
USC at Colorado: It’s unclear how many celebrities, influencers and designer sunglasses salesmen were injured jumping off the Deion bandwagon after last week’s 42-6 wipeout at Oregon, but Prince Harry and Meghan were both spotted in walking boots. Expect the holdouts to join them this week. USC 36-17
Alabama at Mississippi State: Jalen Milroe completed 81% of his passes last week against Ole Miss, and all is suddenly right with the Crimson Tide. Not really, but Milroe will be throwing against the country’s 125th-ranked pass defense on Saturday. Alabama 34-14
LSU at Ole Miss: To get people pumped, Ole Miss planned to commemorate the last time Lane Kiffin won a game against a top-25 team. Unfortunately, nobody could remember that far back. LSU 27-17
Last week: 6-3. Season: 31-12.
Late-breaking news: College Football Nerds predicts Lou Holtz would knock out Ryan Day if they get into a bar fight this weekend.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman is fed up with social media abuse
