Foul tweets by top recruit provide lesson to high school prospects

Star status may have contributed to Yuri Wright’s going wrong

Yuri Wright, a highly-touted football prospect from one of the nation’s top prep programs (Don Bosco Prep), recently chose to use Twitter as his personal mouthpiece and the filth which flew from it had dire costs. In hind sight, Wright’s poor judgment gives high school athletic prospects a perfect lesson in how the misuse of social media can bring down a hailstorm of criticism and character damaging consequences.

The words which young Yuri threw out to his 1,600 or so followers were meant for their eyes only, but what he didn’t count on was the re-tweeting of his comments to thousands upon thousands of others. Soon the Internet was homing in on a high school star that possessed not only a foul mouth but no concept of self-discipline and the power of today’s online communication avenues. Yuri proved that social media can indeed be anti-social.  His comments were raw and disrespectful to women. They revealed a young man who thought that he lived in a bubble which could not conceivably burst. He had no fear.

Today’s star high school athletes, especially those whose parents allow them to have full rein over their own lives, exist in a World of Yes. That is to say, they are seldom turned down for anything they want. Whether it’s shoes, music, phones, clothes or even sex, modern high school athletes are given far too much leeway in nearly all phases of life. It’s not their fault, to a point. They are pushed to the front and into the spotlight by shortsighted parents, youth coaches, community leaders, neighbors and friends. It’s a shameful way to grow up because growing up is not what really happens.  And, it almost always results in some sort of precipitous fall from grace.  All one needs do is read the daily newsfeeds to see yet another example of an athlete that has exhibited an incomprehensibly, twisted perspective of himself and his role in society.  It is skewed beyond a “normal” person’s comprehension.

Wright saw firsthand how his actions, and words, could damage his prima donna status. Michigan, among other colleges, opted to stop recruiting him. Don Bosco expelled him from the school. And, he we can only hope, for his sake, that he felt the enmity of mentors who mean something to him.

But, in the end, did he really learn anything? Did he truly come to understand his limits? Maybe, maybe not, but when the University of Colorado interrupted what may have been a soul searching sojourn with a full-scholarship offer to play next fall for the Buffaloes, what did that jaw-dropping gesture convey to him?

We can assume the best or the worst, but only time will really tell if Yuri Wright will clean up his act, not to mention his mouth.