Michigan "Catfished" Its Own Players to Teach Them Dangers of Social Media [UPDATE: Michigan Disputes "Catfishing"]
By Ty Duffy
Michigan AD David Brandon spoke at a Toledo event this morning. He casually mentioned that Michigan’s athletic department had catfished some of its own student-athletes to teach them about social networking. Denard Robinson should have been well aware. Maybe this is why social media director at Michigan is a $100,000 per year job?
Brandon said the athletic department catfished several athletes to teach them the dangers of social networking. Very interesting.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) February 1, 2013
UPDATE: Kyle Rowland provided some further details…
On the UM catfishing: They had an attractive female contact athletes on social media. Some athlete responses were wholly inappropriate.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) February 1, 2013
Brandon had meeting with players, and the girl walked in. Athletes were shocked, but it was valuable lesson in dangers of social media.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) February 1, 2013
UPDATE II: Brady Hoke described the catfishing to AnnArbor.com’s Kyle Meinke.
"“Before he came in, we gave him 20 Facebook accounts of guys on our team,” coach Brady Hoke said earlier this month while speaking with hundreds of the state’s high school football coaches. “He had his assistant — she tried to talk to our guys. ‘Hey, what are ya doin’?’ Whatever it might be. “Well, two months later we’re in a team meeting and we’re on the topic of what you put out there in the cyber universe … you should have seen 115 guys when that young lady — she was hot, now; a very, very nice looking young lady — when she walked into that meeting room, and the guys looking at each other. “Because some of them didn’t use their heads when communicating back and forth with that young lady.”"