Shaka Smart’s ‘Twitter ban’ keeps players out of harm’s way
For Theus and the rest of the VCU basketball team including the coaching staff, Twitter is a one-sided medium.
Quinn Casteel
Sports Editor
For the last two years, Shaka Smart’s ‘Twitter ban’ has silenced the VCU basketball team on the wildly popular website, but social media remains a big part of the player’s lives.
For VCU senior point guard Darius Theus, Twitter and other forms of social media are an important part of his family and social life, because it allows people he is close with to follow what he’s doing on the court, even if they are unable to watch or attend his games.
“I have a lot of family that can’t get the games, but they’re following on (VCU) Ram Nation and other Twitter feeds,” Theus said in an interview with The CT Sports on Tuesday. “I think (social media) is a good thing for sports because you can always know what’s going on.”
“It’s cool, Twitter is everybody’s opinion,” he continued. “Facebook, Instagram, it’s just everyone’s opinion; you see funny things up there, and sometimes you see things that are like, ‘Did they really just say that?’”
For Theus and the rest of the VCU basketball team including the coaching staff, Twitter is a one-sided medium.
For the last two seasons, head coach Shaka Smart has restricted members of the program from posting on Twitter, but allows them to keep their accounts active. Incoming players are allowed to continue to post on Twitter until they arrive on campus for the first time.
No VCU player or coach who has been a member of the program since the 2011-2012 season has posted a single tweet since Oct. 14, 2011.
However, players such as senior swingman Troy Daniels, junior Juvonte Reddic and sophomore Briante Weber among others have adapted to Smart’s Twitter ban by sticking to more privately restricted social media forums like Instagram and Facebook.
“The philosophy behind (the Twitter ban) is not saying things that can give the other team motivation,” Daniels said. “A lot of guys get stuck under that umbrella where they’re tweeting something they didn’t mean, but people can read it the wrong way, so (Smart) just tries to keep us away from things like that.”
Theus added that in addition to a competitive advantage for opponents, players who sent out negative or inappropriate tweets can divide one’s own locker room or even jeopardize their own future.
“Some guys just don’t know what to say about what they’re doing,” Theus said of the day-to-day updates many people use Twitter for. “You can say what you’re doing, but if you’re supposed to be doing something else, and someone back-tracks your Twitter, they may find something negative about you.”
“It’s not just about motivation but it’s also about our futures,” he continued, speaking on Smart’s Twitter ban. “It can put you in a bad situation that you may not have realized it was a bad situation.”
Overall, the two senior guards agreed that Smart’s Twitter ban was a positive thing for the team, considering the trouble that social media has caused other college athletes such as Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
On Jan. 4, the Heisman winner posted a photo to Instagram of himself posing with handfuls of cash at a casino, which caused many to question how a college student had acquired so much disposable income.
Manziel later tweeted, “Nothing illegal about being 18+ in a casino and winning money…KEEP HATING!” in response to those questioning his behavior, an action which drew even further criticism the national media.
Although it is highly unlikely any VCU athlete would receive negative atention comparable to Manziel’s, Smart’s Twitter ban is mainly a safety net for a potential lapse in judgment or maturity.
Theus summed it up: “Some people can handle it and some people can’t.”