Mizzou QB apologizes for 8th grade tweets

#1      

Illiini

In the land of the Nittany Lion
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Lock has apologized for the tweets, made when he was in 8th grade.

Question: What should, and what will, happen to Lock at a school that's notorious for alleged racism and/or overly sensitive political correctness (take your pick) that has resulted in a significant enrollment decline and dorm closures? Will a junior high transgression result in his not getting the Heisman...and was he really likely to be a candidate for the award playing for Mizzou?
 
#2      
I have no idea who this person is or what his football skills might be, but I suspect that if you spend more than 15 minutes with any group of middle schoolers you are going to hear comments similar to the above (and worse).
 
#3      

Dbell1981

Decatur, IL
Man, how many athletes would be apologizing if we included all the kids that have been called "honky". This racism crap is pathetic. That would gain absolutely no traction in today's media though.
 
#4      

Illiini

In the land of the Nittany Lion
I'm glad to see that The Media haven't decided to make this a cause celeb. Of course, that would open up the whole Pandora's box of what happens when P.C. runs unchecked, as it did at Mizzou. And of course, it didn't have anything to do with Trump. :p
 
#6      
8th grade? Is this a joke? Come on. People need to get a grip of themselves. This is insane.
I 100% agree with you, but where's the cutoff in terms? Senior year of high school? Senior year of college?

It's probably wrong to have an overarching arbitrary line, but at some point you need to be held responsible for your actions. 8th grade is obviously too young. He apologized. Thats enough. Even at a school where this kind of stuff is under the microscope, I can't even imagine the kind of dumb crap I said in 8th grade, probably worse than what he has on twitter. Hate to give people excuses for this kind of stuff, but he was literally a child.
 
#7      
Thank god social media didn't exist when I was that age.

Any D1 program should, as a matter of ordinary business of intaking new athletes, just flush everything from their social media accounts.

I wish it didn't have to be that way, but the existence of a searchable paper trail from decades in your past is a new thing in human history.
 
#8      

Hoppy2105

Little Rock, Arkansas
Thank god social media didn't exist when I was that age.

Any D1 program should, as a matter of ordinary business of intaking new athletes, just flush everything from their social media accounts.

I wish it didn't have to be that way, but the existence of a searchable paper trail from decades in your past is a new thing in human history.

Yup, James Gunn recently got fired from Guardians of the Galaxy for some pretty heinous stuff he said under the guise of comedy.

It was all like 7-10 years ago but Disney just found it.

People used to think social media was their own hidden way to say whatever they want and not have to be held accountable. Back in the day, if someone said something racist in a group of their friends, nothing would happen. But if they did it in a room with loved ones, authority figures, and opinionated strangers, they’d get in trouble.

The world is now finding out that social media is more the latter than the former.
 
#9      

KrushCow31

Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
Yup, James Gunn recently got fired from Guardians of the Galaxy for some pretty heinous stuff he said under the guise of comedy.

It was all like 7-10 years ago but Disney just found it.
I don't really agree with either, but in Gunn's case he was an adult. This kid was what, 13 or 14?

We often say recruits are just kids and we shouldn't judge them for how they handle recruitment etc (not saying you, just quoted you for the Gunn comment) but then we whip out tweets from grade school and say hey look at this. Makes no sense.
 
#10      

3DegreeIllini

Chicago,IL
Man, how many athletes would be apologizing if we included all the kids that have been called "honky". This racism crap is pathetic. That would gain absolutely no traction in today's media though.

Yes, the use of a word that has no historical significance nor is actually offensive to anyone (and only serves as an inapt rebuttal by people to prop up a weird agenda) would not gain any media traction - you're correct.

As to the actual debate, if you're going to be in the public eye, part of it is being held accountable for what you say in highly public forums. If I'm the parent of any 8th grader (and especially one who has shown potential for being a college or professionally athlete), I am monitoring their social media for dumb stuff like this and telling them to get rid of it. And, as someone above suggested, wiping his social media his freshman year. Nothing good can come of it.

Yes, I'm sure I said crazy things as an eighth grader, but I'm not in the public eye. I don't feel sorry for him.

Also, let's not act like the sky is falling. This is receiving the appropriate amount of media attention (i.e., almost none). It's proportional how long ago he said these things, what he said, and what Mizzou football means to most people in this country (i.e., nothing).
 
#11      

Dbell1981

Decatur, IL
Yes, the use of a word that has no historical significance nor is actually offensive to anyone (and only serves as an inapt rebuttal by people to prop up a weird agenda) would not gain any media traction - you're correct.

As to the actual debate, if you're going to be in the public eye, part of it is being held accountable for what you say in highly public forums. If I'm the parent of any 8th grader (and especially one who has shown potential for being a college or professionally athlete), I am monitoring their social media for dumb stuff like this and telling them to get rid of it. And, as someone above suggested, wiping his social media his freshman year. Nothing good can come of it.

Yes, I'm sure I said crazy things as an eighth grader, but I'm not in the public eye. I don't feel sorry for him.

Also, let's not act like the sky is falling. This is receiving the appropriate amount of media attention (i.e., almost none). It's proportional how long ago he said these things, what he said, and what Mizzou football means to most people in this country (i.e., nothing).

100% agree.