Seriously, Stop Bashing Our Players

[RUDiddy777]

Everyone is disappointed when our teams don’t do well. These kids aren’t waking up at 5am to go to practice, then a full day of class, then going to bed at 9pm when everyone else is out drinking and partying to lose games. They face a ton of pressure given their profile. They get a ton of abuse on social media.

That doesn’t mean constructive critiques and criticisms aren’t fair, but it seems to have taken a turn for the worst and I wonder how folks can consider themselves fans while taking a shit on 18, 19, 20 year old kids who put in a lot of work and sacrifice, regardless of outcome. It’s embarrassing and probably damages our recruiting.

These are our guys (and gals), act like it.

 

[RUDiddy777]

Imagine if someone sent this to your kid.

 

[fluoxetine]

Imagine if someone sent this to your kid.

View embedded media

So I guess they gave it to him lol.

I mean that looks like the product of a legitimately insane person.

 

[RUJMM78]

The problem is that players get scholarships and with the NIL monetary payments.Teams that have mediocre won/loss records can expect fans to react during games.Rutgers went 30 years without one NCAA bid and there were times where the RAC was half empty.Winning matters in sports .

 

[jtung230]

The problem is that players get scholarships and with the NIL monetary payments.Teams that have mediocre won/loss records can expect fans to react during games.Rutgers went 30 years without one NCAA bid and there were times where the RAC was half empty.Winning matters in sports .

Do you allow people to yell at you or disrespect you at work because you get paid?

 

[Yeah Baby]

It takes a special loser to pick on players. I'm sorry because I have friends and family members who do it but when they do it they are losers. No other way to describe the lack of maturity to stay off these boards when you're upset. It's not like they're happy after a loss.

The biggest losers pick on individuals too. Even after they have a great game those losers find reasons to say bad things about certain players. That's a special kind of loser.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Everyone is disappointed when our teams don’t do well. These kids aren’t waking up at 5am to go to practice, then a full day of class, then going to bed at 9pm when everyone else is out drinking and partying to lose games. They face a ton of pressure given their profile. They get a ton of abuse on social media.

That doesn’t mean constructive critiques and criticisms aren’t fair, but it seems to have taken a turn for the worst and I wonder how folks can consider themselves fans while taking a shit on 18, 19, 20 year old kids who put in a lot of work and sacrifice, regardless of outcome. It’s embarrassing and probably damages our recruiting.

These are our guys (and gals), act like it.

Thank you

 

[RuSnp]

So I guess they gave it to him lol.

I mean that looks like the product of a legitimately insane person.

If you want to look insane, handwrite anything on index cards and tape them together. Then throw in a couple of random capitalizations. Something like "Happy ValeNtines dAy Mom - you aRE the best MOM evEr" probably results in her changing the locks to the house.

 

[RUtimes5]

100% on the money.
You can have a legitimate discussion of the team, including who’s playing well and who isn’t. Who should be getting more/ less minutes. And for those who know the game well,offer some coaching criticism. But personal attacks on college students? Man, get a life.

 

[fluoxetine]

If you want to look insane, handwrite anything on index cards and tape them together. Then throw in a couple of random capitalizations. Something like "Happy ValeNtines dAy Mom - you aRE the best MOM evEr" probably results in her changing the locks to the house.

Lol, yes I was kind of thinking the next step was to send him a note using letters cut out from the newspaper.

 

[Rhuarc]

The problem is that players get scholarships and with the NIL monetary payments.Teams that have mediocre won/loss records can expect fans to react during games.Rutgers went 30 years without one NCAA bid and there were times where the RAC was half empty.Winning matters in sports .

No, the problem is that as a society we have let the nutjobs run free with no consequence and there are people who can intervene and don't. Sports fans shouldn't be given free reign to act like a-holes just because they root for a team.

 

[jtung230]

I’m certainly guilty of bashing players but I do it here. Everyone needs to vent but to send stuff directly to players is insane.

 

[urbanecane]

It’s noticeably worse this year. Obviously that’s a product of losing, but it seems to go beyond that. Every game there is a thread analyzing whether player x should stay or go next season. Weird stuff.

 

[bitnez]

Threads started to call out players are not cool. At the same time, this is a message board — not a rah rah board. Fans (rightfully) have no issues heaping praise on players when they play well. So, when the reverse happens, I don’t think it should be unexpected that some players will take hits. If it’s personal, again, not cool, but if player A is being discussed posters should be able to discuss all aspects of a player’s game.

 

[RUDiddy777]

Threads started to call out players are not cool. At the same time, this is a message board — not a rah rah board. Fans (rightfully) have no issues heaping praise on players when they play well. So, when the reverse happens, I don’t think it should be unexpected that some players will take hits. If it’s personal, again, not cool, but if player A is being discussed posters should be able to discuss all aspects of a player’s game.

Discuss their game. Like criticisms of Derek’s inconsistent form, shot selection or taking long 2s - those are all reasonable, in my opinion. Or Ogbole losing control of his emotions against NW and getting a costly flagrant. Things that would actually make us better as a team if corrected.

I just think it’s gotten a bit much, mean spirited and a bit personal (e.g like the disappointment poll thread).

 

[bitnez]

Discuss their game. Like criticisms of Derek’s inconsistent form, shot selection or taking long 2s - those are all reasonable, in my opinion. Or Ogbole losing control of his emotions against NW and getting a costly flagrant. Things that would actually make us better as a team if corrected.

I just think it’s gotten a bit much, mean spirited and a bit personal (e.g like the disappointment poll thread).

Agree totally. Don’t take what I meant as a green light to bash the players.

 

[RUChoppin]

It’s noticeably worse this year. Obviously that’s a product of losing, but it seems to go beyond that. Every game there is a thread analyzing whether player x should stay or go next season. Weird stuff.

I'm generally more interested in *will* a player stay/go than *should* a player stay/go. As maligned as they are, I really want all of our guys back next year - though I'd understand if a guy who's not seeing the floor feels he'd have a better opportunity for playing time somewhere else.

That doesn't mean our guys are perfect, though, and they all have areas they can improve. This is a sports message board, and for better or worse it's where fans come to dissect games - that's going to come with criticism for players/coaches.

 

[jonS]

Discuss their game. Like criticisms of Derek’s inconsistent form, shot selection or taking long 2s - those are all reasonable, in my opinion. Or Ogbole losing control of his emotions against NW and getting a costly flagrant. Things that would actually make us better as a team if corrected.

I just think it’s gotten a bit much, mean spirited and a bit personal (e.g like the disappointment poll thread).

Well said and your initial comments above were well taken. After all , these are kids 18, 19 and slightly older. Yes they get scholarships and now NIL , but that doesn't make them any older , more mature or better able to handle life's curves. . For many of these kids ,virtually all of whom have experienced great success at the high school level, struggles in college are something none of them ever experienced before especially on such a very big stage.. What they don't need are unhinged comments from rabid fans.

 

[RUskoolie]

Do you allow people to yell at you or disrespect you at work because you get paid?

Not remotely the same. Professional players get roasted, heckled etc. The moment college players wanted to pretend to be a professional all the courtesy of being nice went out the window. I don't exactly condone personally attacking a player but I have no problem ripping them now. Can't ask us to come up with 200k for (insert player) and then just sit on our hands and golf clap when he plays like an ass game after game.

 

[billgumpper]

Everyone is disappointed when our teams don’t do well. These kids aren’t waking up at 5am to go to practice, then a full day of class, then going to bed at 9pm when everyone else is out drinking and partying to lose games. They face a ton of pressure given their profile. They get a ton of abuse on social media.

That doesn’t mean constructive critiques and criticisms aren’t fair, but it seems to have taken a turn for the worst and I wonder how folks can consider themselves fans while taking a shit on 18, 19, 20 year old kids who put in a lot of work and sacrifice, regardless of outcome. It’s embarrassing and probably damages our recruiting.

These are our guys (and gals), act like it.

Now that they are getting paid to perform, that comes with criticism if you are not playing well.

 

[ancienthooper]

Best thread ever. Amazingly, there are those that disagree. Therein, the problem.

 

[jtung230]

Not remotely the same. Professional players get roasted, heckled etc. The moment college players wanted to pretend to be a professional all the courtesy of being nice went out the window. I don't exactly condone personally attacking a player but I have no problem ripping them now. Can't ask us to come up with 200k for (insert player) and then just sit on our hands and golf clap when he plays like an ass game after game.

Why? If you can’t sell a house for me why can’t I rip you a new one? 6% is a lot of money. Why do I need to extend you the professional courtesy?

 

[dfr1966]

Not remotely the same. Professional players get roasted, heckled etc. The moment college players wanted to pretend to be a professional all the courtesy of being nice went out the window. I don't exactly condone personally attacking a player but I have no problem ripping them now. Can't ask us to come up with 200k for (insert player) and then just sit on our hands and golf clap when he plays like an ass game after game.

Ever hear of being human? You should try it sometime.

 

[billgumpper]

So when the team scores 18 points in the 1st half, no criticism is warranted?

 

[RutgersChow]

The problem is that players get scholarships and with the NIL monetary payments.Teams that have mediocre won/loss records can expect fans to react during games.Rutgers went 30 years without one NCAA bid and there were times where the RAC was half empty.Winning matters in sports .

 

[RutgersChow]

But it's not OK to rip Pike and he makes over &3,000,000.

 

[moving up]

Everyone is disappointed when our teams don’t do well. These kids aren’t waking up at 5am to go to practice, then a full day of class, then going to bed at 9pm when everyone else is out drinking and partying to lose games. They face a ton of pressure given their profile. They get a ton of abuse on social media.

That doesn’t mean constructive critiques and criticisms aren’t fair, but it seems to have taken a turn for the worst and I wonder how folks can consider themselves fans while taking a shit on 18, 19, 20 year old kids who put in a lot of work and sacrifice, regardless of outcome. It’s embarrassing and probably damages our recruiting.

These are our guys (and gals), act like it.

i get all that, i am seeing a different issue. i see some players that are playing not as team pass the ball to everyone. i understand your comments but this has become a business!!!

 

[DowntownT_Brown]

The thread about which player is the most disappointing really gets under my skin. I have a teenage son who is younger than our players but only by a couple years and I can't even imagine how crushed he would be after a game in which his team was smoked and then he came home to read a poll about how disappointing he is to the fanbase. There is no way that is a fanbase he will want to continue to make great sacrifice for which of course these kids are.

Heart breaking on some level.

And I do not have a problem with folks commenting on shot selection, bad fouls, lack of focus, shooting form, really anything that is germane to improving oneself and is accessible but if anyone is going to tell these kids they are a disappointment let it be Pike and then it's on him to find a way to correct the problem.

I know we as fans tend to use message boards as an outlet for our frustration and don't expect kids to read them but even if they don't there is someone out there clipping the negative bits and texting or posting it somewhere, it is very hard to avoid as these kids are connected to friends and strangers alike on all sorts of social media.

 

[RUskoolie]

Why? If you can’t sell a house for me why can’t I rip you a new one? 6% is a lot of money. Why do I need to extend you the professional courtesy?

I do get ripped a new one. Are you kidding? That's the entire point.

 

[RUskoolie]

The thread about which player is the most disappointing really gets under my skin. I have a teenage son who is younger than our players but only by a couple years and I can't even imagine how crushed he would be after a game in which his team was smoked and then he came home to read a poll about how disappointing he is to the fanbase. There is no way that is a fanbase he will want to continue to make great sacrifice for which of course these kids are.

Heart breaking on some level.

And I do not have a problem with folks commenting on shot selection, bad fouls, lack of focus, shooting form, really anything that is germane to improving oneself and is accessible but if anyone is going to tell these kids they are a disappointment let it be Pike and then it's on him to find a way to correct the problem.

I know we as fans tend to use message boards as an outlet for our frustration and don't expect kids to read them but even if they don't there is someone out there clipping the negative bits and texting or posting it somewhere, it is very hard to avoid as these kids are connected to friends and strangers alike on all sorts of social media.

These players aren't making a sacrifice for a fanbase anymore., They run into the portal, go to the highest bidder and go to the next school. If they don't want the criticism then don't sign up to go a top 50 school in America for free, get free everything, get NIL on top of it. I lived this life as a former student athlete. No one forces them to do this.

 

[bitnez]

If our athletes are running to social media post game that’s a bad sign. And if that’s too personal so be it.

 

[ancienthooper]

So when the team scores 18 points in the 1st half, no criticism is warranted?

Hey, you want to collectively boo the players and coaches after a miserable half, have at it. It’s the personal attacks that are low-rent.

 

[RUsojo]

But it's not OK to rip Pike and he makes over &3,000,000.

 

[RUDiddy777]

So when the team scores 18 points in the 1st half, no criticism is warranted?

Criticism is totally fair, as are critiques. It’s just taken on a mean spirited tone - from some, definitely not all. Think most are pretty reasonable.

 

[RUDiddy777]

But it's not OK to rip Pike and he makes over &3,000,000.

Coaches are grown men. Rough criticism comes with the job.

 

[RUDiddy777]

The thread about which player is the most disappointing really gets under my skin. I have a teenage son who is younger than our players but only by a couple years and I can't even imagine how crushed he would be after a game in which his team was smoked and then he came home to read a poll about how disappointing he is to the fanbase. There is no way that is a fanbase he will want to continue to make great sacrifice for which of course these kids are.

Heart breaking on some level.

And I do not have a problem with folks commenting on shot selection, bad fouls, lack of focus, shooting form, really anything that is germane to improving oneself and is accessible but if anyone is going to tell these kids they are a disappointment let it be Pike and then it's on him to find a way to correct the problem.

I know we as fans tend to use message boards as an outlet for our frustration and don't expect kids to read them but even if they don't there is someone out there clipping the negative bits and texting or posting it somewhere, it is very hard to avoid as these kids are connected to friends and strangers alike on all sorts of social media.

Same here. Couldn’t agree more.

 

[ScarletNut]

Do you allow people to yell at you or disrespect you at work because you get paid?

If I paid to watch you work and you did a lousy job, I'd boo you.

 

[RUskoolie]

Criticism is totally fair, as are critiques. It’s just taken on a mean spirited tone - from some, definitely not all. Think most are pretty reasonable.

Agreed, I'm not condoning being an asshole but it's perfectly fair to criticize student athletes now that they're being paid and treated like professionals. That's the point I am personally making in this thread. I'm sure most of them are good people. Good players, some of them are not.

 

[RUskoolie]

If I paid to watch you work and you did a lousy job, I'd boo you.

We did a lousy job a while ago with one client and 5 times now this woman has gotten on the phone and absolutely screamed at us and I mean like a psycho. She paid us and we just whiffed (kind of like shooting 25%) and we ate the shit sandwich because I understand we got paid and did not deliver.

 

[Caliknight]

These guys are pros now. If you are going to accept cash payments you can be criticized. Today was disgusting. They didn’t earn their scholarships much less NIL money.

For the first time in the Pike era his team looked like it quit.