NCAA Star Under Fire for Tweets He Made as a 14-Year-Old
The PC Police have been out of control on Twitter lately, and now an athlete is being raked over the coals for things he said on social media when he was an adolescent.
This time the victim of the witch hunt is Missouri quarterback Drew Lock, who was forced to apologize for things he tweeted in 2011 when he was a 14-year-old student in the eighth grade.
Lock spoke to the Columbia Daily Tribune in a prepared statement.
“I was recently made aware of five tweets from my eighth grade year in middle school that were perceived as insensitive and inappropriate,” he said. “An anonymous person brought these to the attention of the Columbia Daily Tribune, and I appreciate having the opportunity to address them. I didn’t intend to offend anyone with those messages, but I understand that this is an example of how words, even when written by a young teenager, can be interpreted by others as newsworthy, harmful and inappropriate.”
Some things bear repeating: Twitter ought to come with a Miranda warning, because anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of public opinion, especially when easily offended people are just looking for an excuse to cry racism or sexism.
The derogatory tweets contained the kinds of comments popular with certain young white boys. In one of the tweets that was singled out, Lock said, “Hahahah kids a faggot.” In another, he said, “Could geico really save u 15% or more on car insurance??…….Do black guys like flamin hot cheetos?? Hahaha no affence black guys!”
Lock pointed out that if nothing else, the controversy is certainly instructive in a “memento mori” sort of way to go back to one’s bad ideas and ill-considered mouthing off if for no better reason than to get a reminder of how life is a constant exercise in intellectual, social and spiritual growth.
“By revisiting those tweets it gives us all yet another opportunity to grow from past history and strive to be more understanding and compassionate with each other in today’s society,” Lock said in the statement.
“The most encouraging part for me is looking back at myself as a 14-year-old kid versus today as a 21-year-old leader of men and realizing how much I have grown as a person,” he said. “I have much more appreciation, understanding and compassion for all others. This moment in time gives me clarity and encouragement that everything I have experienced from 2011 to now has truly made me a better person. Thank you to all who have helped shape me into the person I am today.”
Lock’s name goes on an ever-expanding list of athletes being demonized by a very determined internet segment whose sole purpose seems to be ruining the reputation of people over the acts of their teenage selves.
Donte DiVincenzo of Villanova and now the Milwaukee Bucks went through it in March during Nova’s NCAA tournament run.
Josh Allen had to answer for perceived character issues before the Buffalo Bills took him in the NFL draft.
Josh Hader had the same problem with the Brewers that DiVincenzo had with the Bucks, making it a Milwaukee two-fer.
Sean Newcomb of the Atlanta Braves had his past dredged up in the middle of pitching a no-hitter.
And Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals had his run-in with the internet’s jackals the same night Newcomb had his.
All of them issued apologies, and none of them faced any real kind of permanent heat for words they said as teenagers.
But where does it end?
Until the internet trolls face some accountability, we’ll be telling this story whenever it rears its ugly head.
And heaven help us all if we’re judged as adults for what we said when we were teenagers.
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