Players drop expletives during NCAA tournament interviews

One of the beauties of college sports is that spectators can see young people behaving like young people. Sure, the pros play the game better, but sometimes youthful exuberance makes up for the many more fundamental mistakes. While we get to see their excitement, the trainers and sports iinformation ddirectors try to protect the players’ personalities from the public. Young people still have a lot to learn, so it’s best if their personal shortcomings aren’t broadcast. For example, jYoung people can be quite vulgar.

Amateur athletes typically avoid swearing on camera, but some players let the four-letter words fly during March Madness’ opening weekend.

It’s OK, it’s TruTV

Florida Atlantic conquers the hearts of NCAA tournament fans as a loveable outsider. The school did not have a men’s basketball team until 1988. They were not part of Division I until 1993. 2023 is the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament appearance, and they’re on their way to the Sweet 16.

Johnell Davis was so excited he forgot to watch his speech and accidentally said “Shit.” He immediately apologized, but Jamie Erdahl reminded him that they were live on TruTV, so no FCC penalty was imminent.

When Davis broke the seal, the swear words came out. Drew Timme – who’s old enough to know better – dropped an F-bomb after Gonzaga won in the round of 32 TCU. Unlike NCAA tournament rookie Davis, Timme never faltered. He was so comfortable that even a swear word didn’t affect the length of his reply.

It also happens in the women’s tournament

Then the university at the women’s tournament on Monday evening Miami became the second team that year to knock off a No. 1 seed when they defeated Indiana. Destiny Harden beat the game to victory basket for the hurricanes in the dwindling seconds. She sat down for a pitchside interview with the broadcast crew and revealed a discussion she had with an assistant coach just before the basket.

Harden said she was told to “look face up and win the damn game.” She, too, apologized immediately after her NSFW language.

Just like Davis, Timme and Harden didn’t swear over a broadcast network, so no harm was done. Maybe a bunch of seven-year-olds heard a language they only hear when the family car is being taken to the body shop or Mom is on the phone with a college buddy. The opening Week of the NCAA basketball tournaments is neither the first nor the The last time they’ll hear a bad word is before they’re legally old enough to see an RrGreat movie.

There will probably be some reminders for the players about the appropriate language in interviews, but I for one enjoyed it. The language that Me and my college friends used – even the language used at the middle school lunch table – had Andrew Dice Clay’s number Grin comparison. That’s what young people talk about and it was fun to hear it in its entirety.

This doesn’t mean college players should go Fred VanVleet on referee. That kind of bitterness has to be reserved for adults who have built up that kind of anger over decades. But an excited young person who is young and excited is why we look less professionally Quality sport first.