Mark Richt on Miami Hurricanes’ use of social media: ‘I’m not ready to shut it down’
Despite all the social media blunders his Hurricanes have made this season, University of Miami coach Mark Richt has not banned his players from using the various platforms that have become a way of life for many college students.
On Wednesday at the Pinstripe Bowl coaches’ news conference, Richt was asked if he had disciplined quarterback N’Kosi Perry in the wake of three social-media fueled controversies in the past week — not to mention at least one earlier in the year.
“He’s been educated. I’ll say that,” Richt, who on Wednesday named Malik Rosier as the Pinstripe Bowl starter against Wisconsin, said of Perry.
A report by The Miami Hurricane school newspaper surfaced Friday regarding usual starter Perry’s posting of a sexually explicit video in September. On Saturday, Brevin Jordan told inquisitive fans in a video clip that Rosier would start in the bowl; and finally, cornerback Gilbert Frierson filmed and posted a video that included Perry in the background saying he was suspended.
Said Richt: “I think the biggest thing is, for all of our young men when it comes to social media, to understand that anything you put out there is very, very public and I think they know that, but I don’t think they really understand how powerful those things are.
“We’ve been talking to these guys about making sure that — I mean, I’m not ready to shut it down because I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do, but when we do go on social media we need to be thinking in terms of, Will this be helpful to the team or will it hurt?
“You’re a part of the team, you’re a part of an organization, you’ve got to make decisions that are going to be positive for yourself and your family name, and the university and for the program. There’s a responsibility to to do things right when it comes to social media.”
This story was originally published December 26, 2018 at 2:57 PM.
