KU’s Self said he regrets addressing social media hate aimed at a player. He shouldn’t | Opinion
Kansas basketball coach Bill Self said he regrets addressing social media hate aimed at one of his players, according to Hoop HQ’s Seth Davis. I don’t agree.
In fact, I truly believe Self should have done more to denounce the racist and hate-filled screenshots about and shared on X by the player they targeted, Zeke Mayo.
“I shouldn’t have done it, because all it did was bring more attention to what was said,” Self said, according to Davis. The two spoke during a telephone interview Sunday night, Davis wrote. “I feel like there’s been some unfair personal attacks and criticism, but not by people that matter. A lot of that comes from people who are not KU fans. They’re gambling and lost a bet or whatever. But so much of young people’s identity is what people are saying about them on social media. I wanted to get that point out that these kids care. They’re trying.”
Self is a Hall of Fame coach and one of the most influential people in college basketball. But what we are talking about here is bigger than sports. Self’s statement, released on the Jayhawks’ official X account, failed to address directly the harmful messages shared by Mayo. We all must question if Self understands the gravity of what Mayo experienced.
“Any criticism about the team should be directed at me,” Self said. “I’m the head coach.”
In the aftermath of the Jayhawks’ loss Saturday to Texas Tech, Mayo took to social media to share screen shots of alarming screeds sent his way — vile messages of racism and hate. He was called a slur and encouraged to cause harm to himself.
Therein lies my point about Self’s lack of self-awareness: It seems highly unlikely to me that anyone would call Self a racial slur or tell him to kill himself. He needed to call out the hate.
Mayo is from Lawrence, a true native son, if you will. He deserves better from fans and his own head coach. He started his college career at South Dakota State and is in his first year at KU. His arrival was met with much hype, and rightfully so. The kid put up really good numbers at his previous school and was expected to be one of the better Jayhawks this year.
And he’s had his moments. But Saturday was not among Mayo’s best performances by his own admission. He said as much in a post on X:
“I 100% deserve all the criticism in the world,” he wrote. “My performance was beyond pitiful today and has been for a while now. I work my ass off everyday to be great, but I can’t be perfect all the time. I’m sorry to our fans and my teammates, I will continue to get better.”
I do applaud Self for trying to take a hit for one of his players. But in a social media world full of vitriol and anonymous trolling, he should have said more to protect Mayo’s well-being. Kansas athletic director Travis Goff understood the assignment and denounced those that sent vile messages Mayo’s way.
“These aren’t Jayhawks,” Goff wrote on X. “They’re not ours. Driven by gambling and hate. They’ve never competed a day in their life. To Zeke and all our guys — the Jayhawk family loves you and will always ride with you through thick and thin.”
It didn’t take much time or effort for Goff to publicly take up for Mayo. But he did.
Sadly, Self didn’t do the same.
