Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Social media has changed the way fans can follow recruiting and some fans even take a hands-on approach and reach out to their favorite recruits, but that can have negative consequences as one Alabama fan recently discovered.
Racean Thomas (Oxford, Al. Oxford) is a four-star running back pursued by a number of SEC teams and considered an Auburn lean and got annoyed at one Crimson Tide fan on his ask.fm account Thursday evening and fired back.
The fan recruiter said:
“ROC the right choice for ya is to join the best damn program in the nation!!!! why would you even consider a trash ass school like AW-BARN?!? its a no brainer really.”
Thomas’s reply:
I don’t think you get it. I earned the opportunity, the offers, the choices. So I can decide wherever whether its auburn bama or ITT tech! I’m not here to make you or any other fan happy. My goal is to put a smile on my FAMILYS’ face!
Thomas’ response made me laugh and I’m sure he’s not the first recruit that has wanted to lash out at the constant solicitation from those on social media. No restrictions exist on twitter and other forms of social media and these athletes are at the mercy of non-stop pestering from the die-hard fan bases.
This type of behavior has become more prevalent on twitter as fans act like recruiting coordinators for their favorite school and think their sales pitch is going to be the difference between a recruit choosing one place over the other. This fan certainly didn’t help the cause for the Crimson Tide with his ploy.
Many find tweeting high school athletes at all hours of the day to be disturbing, so do you think reaching out to recruits via social media can have a large impact on where the player chooses to play in college?
Certainly, one fan doesn’t represent an entire fan base. I’m sure there are some Alabama fans upset at this person for casting their school in a negative light. Some fan bases have more class on social media and simply wish recruits the best in their decision-making process and will be supportive wherever they choose to play.
However, with the good comes the bad and this is a prime example of that.
Patrick’s a college football writer for Rant Sports and radio host on Sportstownchicago.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickASchmidt and add him to your Google network.
