Walt Rubel Commentary: Online stupidity never goes away

Is there a statute of limitations on horribly offensive racist and homophobic comments posted online?

Every situation is unique. If you are running to be the governor of North Carolina and posted the comments as an adult, that is probably something voters are going to consider when making their decision. But what about an assistant football coach who made the posts when he was in college?

It was recently reported that NMSU offensive coordinator Tyler Wright has posts from more than 10 years ago on his social media account that are absolutely indefensible. They were posted when he was a football player attending Tarleton State. The hateful posts stopped when he took his first coaching job, but he never took them down.

Wright was not with the team for its game Saturday, and his situation is currently under review.

I’ve never met him, and have no way of judging if those posts are in any way a reflection of the man he is today. If they are, then it’s an easy decision. He has to go.

But if they aren’t, and he truly is a different man today, then it’s a tougher decision. Athletics Director Mario Moccia said he didn’t know about the posts when Wright was hired. If Wright had disclosed them at that time, Moccia could have made an informed decision. And so, termination would be justified.

There are other factors that will influence the decision I can’t assess, such as Wright’s relationship with NMSU players and how that will be impacted by this disclosure. I will trust Moccia to consider all relevant factors and make the right decision.

But this is an issue that is bigger than one assistant football coach.

When I was a college student, I was absolutely certain that I knew more about everything than anyone else in the room, and I was not at all shy about sharing my opinions. There was nothing like this, but I’m sure it would be embarrassing if all my half-baked proclamations were saved for posterity.

Fortunately, my generation wasn’t big on writing things down. We thought letters were passe, and we were just being introduced to the concept of a word processor.

Wright came of age during a generation where every thought or impulse had to be shared with the world. The Internet gave people the illusion of power. In theory, their angry screed could be read by millions of people, change all of their hearts and significantly transform the world. In reality, the angry screed will never go away. And it may come up in job interviews 20 years later.

If Wright had merely said the things he posted, they would still have been equally offensive and hateful, but they would have soon been forgotten.

I don’t know what is the best decision for NMSU. Maybe a fresh start would be best for both sides. But I don’t think opinions expressed in college should mean that Wright never works again, if he no longer holds those beliefs. 

I understand that it’s easy for me to show grace when I’m not a member of the groups that were disparaged. But we have to allow people to grow and to learn from their mistakes.


Walter Rubel can be reached at [email protected]

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