Rockne's Roundtable

Just got done taping a segment for the Irish Huddle with Mr. Somogyi and Tony Roberts. During part of the show we talked about Twitter and how it is often negatively viewed. I wish I had composed my thought enough to say this on air, but just wanted to follow up quickly.

Those that don't use Twitter or aren't familiar with it seem to think that coaches should ban their players from using the website, or any social media for that matter. What I think gets lost in the conversation is that social media is not inherently evil. It's a tool. It's no different than a hammer, a screwdriver or a knife. If you put a knife in the hand of a surgeon you are likely to get good results. If you put a knife in the hand of a bloodthirsty murderer results will likely be less good.

Often we publish stories that focus on negative tweets (i.e. Louis Nix, the my guys-his guys meltdown last fall, etc.), but you can learn a lot of great things about college football players via Twitter as well. For example, this week I was able to get a much closer look at the type of work many of the Irish football players do for The Bald and The Beautiful, a charity that helps raise awareness for pediatric cancer. Through tweets from guys like former QB Dayne Crist and OL Mike Golic, Jr. I learned a lot more about something they are passionate about.

To ban Twitter completely, I think, does a disservice to your players and your fans. Talking to Louis Nix yesterday, he mentioned that he loves to reach out to fans and say "What's up?" when they contact him of Facebook or Twitter whether they are 4 years old or 40 years old because he always wished he could interact with his favorite athletes when he was a little kid.

I understand you don't want to cause unnecessary drama by providing a direct link to a 20-year-old's inner thoughts, but some times those inner thoughts can shine a great light on the player and the school. They can provide a little insight that might make these guys seem more human and less like cogs in a machine. Social media can be used for good or for bad. Taking away that privilege if a player uses social media to hurt his team or giveaway company secrets makes sense. To simply shut it down would be a mistake.