Is it Time for Ross Bjork and Hugh Freeze to Give Up Twitter?

Oct 17, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Hugh Freeze during the game against the Memphis Tigers at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

The advent of social media platforms such as Twitter has allowed for direct and relatively unfettered communication between the general public and public figures.  Without question, Twitter can be a powerful tool for communicating quickly to large constituency groups, such as college football fans.

But the medium is not without its drawbacks, and users who lack the proper temperament can quickly find themselves mired in a trap of their own making – simply by their insatiable need to have the last word.

This is especially true for public figures.  After all, Twitter allows users to make use of pseudonyms and have multiple accounts – both perfect vehicles for detractors who want to take potshots at public figures in a public forum.  As a public figure, it is imperative to know HOW, WHEN and/or IF to respond to someone who is talking trash to them.

With this in mind, it’s time to pose a serious question –  is it time for Ole Miss athletic director Ross Bjork and head football coach Hugh Freeze to consider giving up Twitter?  Both of these individuals have had their share of run-ins with detractors over the past few years.

Bjork, while mocked by some, did receive a lot of kudos from Ole Miss fans for this:

But then there was this:

Seriously, is it a good idea to tweet out the head coach’s phone number?

Freeze, on the other hand, seems to go from one twitter spat to another.  But perhaps nothing tops the time he argued with a parody account of himself:

Even Ole Miss fans are tiring of this kind of sophomoric behavior.

Obviously Twitter is not all bad.  Mississippi State Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, one of the first ADs to effectively utilize it, seems to have it down to a science.  I’ve never seen Scott sniping with a troll on Twitter.  He does interact with State fans and occasionally fans of other schools, but I’ve never seen him respond in a fashion that would  be embarrassing to MSU fans.

Likewise, Coach Dan Mullen uses his account effectively. He doesn’t spend much time on Twitter during football season, and as an MSU fan, I find that rather comforting.  After all, do you really want your head coach spending valuable time during football season responding to Twitter trolls?

So maybe Ross and Hugh should give serious consideration to giving up Twitter.  At the very least, they should consider taking a Twitter time out. It’s challenging enough running a major college football program, so why make life any harder on yourself?

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