Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino believes that his team is better when his players avoid sites like Twitter and Facebook, although Kentucky Wildcats head tactician John Calipari believes social media can be used in a positive way.
Appearing on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike" show, Pitino admitted he prohibits his players from tweeting. As quoted by ESPN.com, the coach said: "Every hour, it's like taking a little bit of poison. It poisons their minds."
He continued: "I think technology is a great thing in many instances, and I think it's poison in others, and for people in sports especially."
He added that social media hinders a player's facility to communicate well with the people around him.
"We as parents and teachers, we want our children, we want our players to communicate, to articulate a message, to get in front of a human resources person and articulate their passion for wanting a job. We're losing our abilities to communicate, especially young people today," he argued.
On the other hand, Calipari disputed Pitino's claims when he appeared on the same radio program a day later. ESPN.com quoted him as saying: "This is no disrespect. The coaches you mentioned, [pertaining to Pitino and Michigan State's Tom Izzo], they know nothing about social media. Nothing. They don't do it. They feel it's another job."
Calipari said that instead of prohibiting his players from using Twitter or Facebook, he will use these social media outlets in a positive way.
"Twitter is an opportunity -- Facebook is an opportunity -- to say what you feel, to try to pick people up, to try to be positive, to try to add something to society, to try to let people see you transparently. You cannot be defined, if you are on social media, by somebody else. You will define yourself. And if it's negative, that's your fault."
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