Michigan's Athletic Department Catfished its Own Athletes
Speaking at the KeyBank Global Leaders Forum in Toledo Friday morning, Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon dropped this on the world:
Brandon said the athletic department catfished several athletes to teach them the dangers of social networking. Very interesting.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) February 1, 2013
On the UM catfishing: They had an attractive female contact athletes on social media. Some athlete responses were wholly inappropriate.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) February 1, 2013
Brandon had meeting with players, and the girl walked in. Athletes were shocked, but it was valuable lesson in dangers of social media.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) February 1, 2013
We're truly conflicted on this one. On one hand, it's a great training device, if a bit creepy. Someone has to prepare Michigan Men for the dangers of digital lovin'. But still...
Source @KyleRowland
Comments
I see Michigan adheres to the George Bluth Sr. method for teaching lessons.
"And THAT is why you don't start an online relationship!"
J. Walter Weatherman. Always leave a note.
“Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.” - Woody
You can kill a fly with your slipper or a cannon. Either way, the fly dies. -Ramzy
The catfish session between UM and Tate Forcier would've been magical.
Tate: UGH, sometimes I just wanna hurt Denard so I can get my starting spot back.
HotGirl: ...Please don't do that.
By catfished they mean they used their normal recruiting pitch right?
"Lets beat the shit out of Michigan".... Urban. Frank. Meyer.
What the frick is he doing in Toledo! Get the f#$k out! This is Ohio, beatch.
"Here officer, hold my beer while I find my license."
Right? Especially my city. But I guess the old saying should apply to UM when dealing with Toledo, "If you cant beat 'em, join 'em."
Wow, this is creepy. If that happened to my children, REGARDLESS OF SCHOOL, i'm pulling them.
M Man, thoughts?
"Don't put syrup on shit, and tell me it's pancakes"
No matter how sh*tty the tour is, it's always tough to leave.
What is this "Twitter"? Somebody mentioned "Twitter" once on a recording, on my answering machine. I didn't get it, so I just flipped over the cassette.
I'm just guessing that they didn't employ Denard's ex-girlfriend for this internet caper.
wonder if UM will hire Tuiasosopo in an advisory capacity for this one
Are they going to start lining up random street thugs to assult their athletes, to teach them the dangers of fighting? Maybe Michigan is doing a new MTV reality show called "NCAA- Scared Straight".
How about setting them up with lines of an innocuous white powder and later tell them it was poison to teach them they should stay away from illicit narcotics?
"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"
If I'm reading those tweet timestamps correctly, they are from 4+hrs in the future?
“Any time you give a man something he doesn't earn, you cheapen him. Our kids earn what they get, and that includes respect.” - Woody
Twitter is busted. Has been for a while.
The world is full of kings & queens who'll blind your eyes & steal your dreams - it's heaven & hell - Ronnie James Dio.
Guys, the real story here is that Brandon could find an attractive female in tsun. I think 'attractive' may be a relative term here.
That's what Eastern Michigan is for. 15 minutes down Washtenaw Avenue on Friday night. A whole 'nuther SAT requirement.
Obligatory...
I actually like this. It's graphic, impactful and drives the point home in a way these guys will never forget.
Having said that, I feel I'm allowed to drop in a lame wisecrack about Brady Hoke approving the catfishing scheme on the condition that hush puppies were included.
Lying and deceiving your own players is never a good policy.
I definitely understand where you're coming from, it makes for a very interesting conversation.
Come on Urbz, it's not like they said they were giving out free blankets that happened to be covered in smallpox. It was an entirely harmless practice that thought the players a solid life lesson.
I would be pissed off if I was an athlete at UM and they were doing this. Personal opinion, I just think it's wrong.
Any pics of the chick?
If Manti doesn't cut it in the NFL, at least he has a no-brainer future employment opportunity.
Keep Calm and Ignore the Trolls.
Right. Another new industry created by the internets.
Who knew?
"Here officer, hold my beer while I find my license."
Thought this was another article about those guys who stick their hands in muddy holes looking for something fishy to clamp on them.....guess I wasn't too far off......
I think it was pretty classy that UM used a real hot chick! Of course, the lesson would have had a bigger impact if Manti's "girlfriend" had showed up for the reveal!
“...indomitable in victory, insufferable in defeat.” Woody Hayes
You would have thought that by using a really hot chick would have been a good clue to the UM players that it was too good to be real.
Boxley
Really don't have a problem with this. Actually find it to be pretty damn smart.
Suprised they bothered even bringing her in after the Manti T'eo situation
The American Medical Association should give Greg Brandon and Brady Hoke an award. They solved the riddle that has plagued modern psychologists for years. If a really good looking girl shows an interest in an eighteen year old male, what will the male do?
I'm with Urbz though, I'd be seriously pissed if I was a player, and I'd be pissed as a parent of a player. This seems a bit over the top in terms of lessons being taught, and I'd never ever want my coach or athletic director or anyone reading what I was writing to a girl I thought I had a chance to fornicate with. Cause I might say some crazy stuff. Seems overly shaming to me.
I'd upvote you if I could on the Arrested Development chimes. Strong work gents.
Then don't put that stuff on a social network... It's pretty simple really.
I get that, not sure 18 year old me would. It's the way of the world now. I bet them boys get it in plenty from chicks contacting them the same way. Just seems over the top to me that they'd do that. If it were an NFL team, I'd get it. College, not so much.
See and that whole well "they're 18/college students" stuff is just a cop out to me. Doesn't make it acceptable or anything to do it. In reality this move will probably benefit the players more than anything else, it was a pretty harmless move that taught them a life lesson. And really, the players can't complain that much about it invading personal privacy when they're using a social network...
I respect the fact that we'll disagree on this, and I understand that having a facebook or twitter may open a person up to this. All I'll say is this. In my opinion it's an invasion of privacy. If someone is watching my wife undress through the window is it her fault she chose a house with windows? And even if she should have closed the blinds, does it make it right for someone to do that? These guys are in college, not in communist Russia. And maybe I'm thinking it was more than what it was. If it was a facebook message saying hey, and these guys came back with some vulger stuff, that's one thing. If it's more than that and a blatent attempt to get them to "take the bait" so to speak, then that's another. I don't know. All I know is I wouldn't want my boss cyphering through my personal email or involving themselves in what I do in my personal life, regardless of whether or not he was going to teach me a life lesson out of it. Because ultimately he might view me differently, treat me differently, fire me, etc. And I'm 32 years old, and I did a LOT of stuff at 18 that I wouldn't do now (but probably wish I could), so while it may seem like a cop out there is plenty of truth to it. College kids have different priorities.
Just my opinion. Maybe it will teach these guys a lesson, and it will be for the better. I would think if they didn't get the message from the whole Teo thing they may never get it. Like I said without knowing the circumstances maybe it's overreacting, I just wouldn't want someone to do that to me if I were a player there. Seems like there has to be a less invasive way to get the message across.
Let's see the pictures! LOL. Kidding.
I agree though. I think this stinks to high heaven. It's entrapment. It's no different than cops in small town communities parking outside of bars waiting for drunks to come out.
I'm just glad this happened at TTUN rather than OSU, because if I was one of those players involved, I would feel BETRAYED, and would consider traferring, because of the embarrassment and the fact that I couldn't trust Brandon, Hoke or the school.
"Here officer, hold my beer while I find my license."
Isn't cyber-fornication alot safer than the real fornication now days? Teenage punks that decide to go to michigan are gonna find some way to get their rocks off. Might as well let em practice it safely with the university's athletic director.
"Get him a body bag, Yeah!"