Kliff Kingsbury admitted to doing something at Texas Tech a number of coaches in college football probably do
Former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury, now the head coach of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, recently admitted to using fake social media accounts as a way to monitor what his players were doing in social media. The NFL world is reacting to the story now as Kingsbury prepares for his first season as an NFL head coach, with
Pro Football Talk‘s Mike Florio noting Kingsbury will likely be asked about his social media conduct when he addresses the media for the first time since the story broke in the
Arizona Republic at training camp.
The question college football people are probably wondering is “so what?”
The act of using fake social media profiles to keep tabs on others can be a risky move. Not only can it come off as deceiving because, well, it is, but improper use of fake social media accounts can lead to more trouble than it is worth sometimes. But was Kingsbury doing anything he should not have been doing with regard to his players at Texas Tech?
More and more often, college football coaches and staff members are stressing the importance of players keep their noses clean when it comes to social media habits. The problem is there are some difficult ways to constantly monitor and act on any player’s personal account, which is why going under the radar with a fake account seems to make sense. If a player is more likely to respond or react to another online profile they think is not their coach, they may be more open to expressing themselves more naturally. And that may be exactly the point for Kingsbury or any other coach who chooses to check in on players through a fake account.
We may never know for sure, but there could potentially be hundreds of college football or athletics staffers who are tasked with chatting with players through a fake account. And if anything fishy or questionable comes up, the staff can act on it accordingly as they best see fit. Coaches and staff members are there not only to win games but also pave a solid path for their players for life beyond the football field. In today’s world, having a good sense of how to appropriately handle social media can never be stressed enough.
Every coach and staff has a different way to handle social media, of course. Some programs force players to log out of their social media accounts during the season. Others don’t set any limits on social media screen time. There may not be a perfect solution, but with players getting more chances to express themselves directly, it is increasingly more important to have staffers logged in and tuned in to what is going on in the world of social media to ensure their program and university, and the player, will not cross any lines that don’t need to be crossed.
Entire article:
https://collegefootballtalk.nbcspor...media-accounts-to-monitor-texas-tech-players/
Spy guy: At Texas Tech, Kingsbury says he monitored players via fake social media accounts
During an August 2016 appearance on “The Hawkcast” podcast with then-Atlanta Falcons linebacker A.J. Hawk, Kingsbury openly revealed he and his Texas Tech coaches would set up fake social media accounts using “cute girls” as avatars to spy on their players.
That’s right,
spy.
“We have fake accounts with cute girls that they add right now so we can see what’s going on, who’s tweeting what,” Kingsbury said at the time. “Those are heavily monitored, for sure.”
As weird as it may sound, the tactic isn’t that unusual. Coaches in football and other sports have been known to do the same thing as a way to watch how their players are presenting themselves on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.
The strange part is that Kingsbury admits to doing it.
Entire article:
https://www.azcentral.com/story/spo...bury-spy-players-via-social-media/1459984001/
Just wondering: Has anyone heard of the "Hawkcast" before?
