Fergie's Tech Blog

UT Football Coach Fears Fans With Phones

Carlo, over on techdirt.com, writes:

University of Texas head football coach Mack Brown has asked fans visiting his team's open practices to leave their cell phones at home after "way too many" fans apparently took photos and video of a player limping off the field during a practice this week. According to the AP, "Brown is worried the pictures could hit the Internet before the coaches have a chance to tell players' families about injuries."

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where the idiocy begins here. They're open practices -- anybody that wants to come in and watch, even scouts for opposing teams, can walk right in, and the whole thing's covered by the media anyway. It's also unclear exactly how cell phones are more dangerous than cameras, especially since any images from across a football field taken with a phone aren't likely to turn out real well. And there are plenty of Longhorn fans who'd wish that Brown was as concerned about beating archrival Oklahoma for the first time in 6 years as he is with cell phones. But finally, if he's so worried about notifying players' parents when they get injured, why don't he or his coaches get a phone of their own, and call them when it happens?

Update: Well, that didn't take long. Brown's closed the team's remaining practices citing "the privacy of players and their families".

posted by Fergie @ 8/12/2005 03:48:00 PM