When I was 19 years old we didn’t have things like twitter, but I said my share of stupid things that I wish I could take back. I do agree with Reynolds being suspended, but not indefinitely. We all make mistakes and I am 100% sure there have been Oklahoma players who have had far worse transgressions who still were allowed on Saturdays.
Here is the story:
Oklahoma receiver Jaz Reynolds was suspended indefinitely for comments he made on his Twitter account.
Shortly after the news that 19-year-old Texas student Colton Tooley committed suicide Tuesday, Reynolds tweeted, ““Hey everyone in Austin, tx…….kill yourself #evillaugh.”
Reynolds, a sophomore, later tweeted, “Everyone in austin, tx disregard that last tweet….y’all will mess around n do it lmao.”
Tooley armed himself with an AK-47 on Tuesday morning and fired off several rounds near the Littlefield Fountain on 21st Street around 8:15 a.m. He then went to the sixth floor of the Perry- Castaneda Library, where he turned the gun on himself.
“Because of his insensitive remarks on Twitter relative to Tuesday’s tragedy in Austin, we have suspended Jaz Reynolds from our team indefinitely,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said in a statement. “Our rivalry with Texas will not come at the expense of dignity and respect. We have great concern for what happened in Austin and I am incredibly disappointed that someone connected with our team would react so callously. We have taken immediate action and I hope by doing so have illustrated how seriously we view this matter.”
While I respect what Bob Stoops said, I wish they took every situation as seriously as they did this tweet.
As for Reynolds, I hope he understands now that anything that is said in a public forum can be used against you. There was nothing remotely funny about his tweet and that is one of the problems with Social Media everyone thinks they are a comedian and have a lot of computer courage. Trying to make light of a tragedy is never ever funny.
There is a simple motto people should use for twitter:
THINK BEFORE YOU TWEET
If you say to yourself:
“I think people might be offended by this.”
And you play on any college or professional team, you might just want to keep your thoughts to yourself.