C.J. Johnson, a star HS recruit, says goodbye to Facebook
With college recruiting already a stressful business, to some high school athletes, social media is doing more harm than good. One of the nation’s top recruits, Philadelphia High (Mississippi) linebacker C.J. Johnson, was the latest victim of the social media onslaught with countless Facebook friend requests, unruly comments, and slanderous messages that he just flat out closed his account stating that this entire process is “a living nightmare.”
“This is my last Facebook post and I’m gonna leave facebook with this. Linda Johnson has never worked as a house worker making 100,000 dollars a year and I will not be a Mississippi state bulldog and I’m not considering Mississippi state anymore bc you have constantly comment on my page send me crazy inboxes and has made my recruiting experience a living nightmare. Goodbye facebook.”
The entire premise of social media is to interact with other visitors, however, the only way these athletes can have some level of normalcy during the recruiting process is to block every single visitor which goes against the very fabric of social media. Johnson should have certainly configured his security settings accordingly.
It should almost be expected that fans will stalk social media sites thinking their comments will sway an athlete one way or another. This story is highlighting the fact that it’s probably a safe bet for star recruits to avoid Facebook, twitter, MySpace, and every other social media site, because as these athletes move up the ranks of football, it will only get worse.
But when looking at Johnson’s story, the most disturbing point is Johnson is only a high school senior. Fans should leave this kid alone. What’s next, commenting on junior high stars?
