I’ve occasionally joked that any draft prospect who doesn’t have a Twitter account should get an immediate grading boost.
This week, however, has reminded me why I kind of, sort of, actually mean it.
I was never fan of Geno Smith’s online presence. I think he cared too much what people thought of him. He’d get into pointless spats. He’d post things that were often just vague enough to have the fan base wondering if there was some deeper meaning.
Players can, of course, do whatever they want to on social media. I’m not telling them what to do. Yet it’s equally my right to think ‘oh will you just pack it in’ when the likes of Smith go off on one.
The latest episode seemed to start with a video of the Raiders’ quarterback shouting at someone off-camera. Apparently he was coaching the ‘South Florida Express’ in a 7v7 game. He was filmed yelling at an unknown individual, if it even was aimed at an individual, “That’s why they pay me the big bucks, that’s why I get paid the big bucks. That’s why they bring the big bucks to me, that’s why they pay me the big bucks!”
When I saw the video I thought it was cringey. Maybe it’s an American thing but over here, you wouldn’t get very far boasting about your pay packet before someone told you to take a running jump.
Some people reacted a bit more negatively towards it, leading to Smith leaping to his own defense — accusing people of hiving clicks and negativity. He followed it up with a reasonable remark that he’d heard worse at a family spades table. That’s true enough. Like I said, it just felt a bit cringe.
Of course, by rising to it rather than ignoring it, people continued to comment. Before long he was quote-tweeting a Seahawks fan who suggested he needed to check his ego. That fan may or may not have felt the wrath of ‘team Geno’ as a consequence. He has 148,000 followers and more than a few appear quite committed to the cause. I think celebrities need to be a little bit careful sometimes who they single out. I don’t think anyone is ‘fair game’. It feels a little bit like you’re punching down. Given the massive size of the bank account he talks about, perhaps he could’ve let this one lie?
He had a few more tweets after. Who knows if he’ll return to the subject.
I just came away thinking, haven’t you got anything better to do?
It reminded me of the occasional private DM I’d share with Seahawk-minded friends after the latest Smith-influenced collective eye-roll. I don’t think Smith’s tweets do him any favours. I’m probably not alone in feeling that way.
We’re a few weeks removed from Brady Henderson revealing on Seattle Sports that leadership factors played a part in the Seahawks making a switch at quarterback this year. I don’t think this kind of thing is totally unrelated.
I just checked and Sam Darnold doesn’t have a Twitter account.
It made my evening.
