Christian Laettner joined director Rory Karpf and ESPN Films VP and executive producer John Dahl to preview the ESPN 30 for 30 “I Hate Christian Laettner” and answer questions from the media this afternoon. I asked Laettner how he thought the perception of him might have changed had he played in today’s social media. I also asked Karpf for his perspective on this, and then followed up by asking them if they think we’ll ever progress as a society, beyond the point where social media is today.
Will people ever become civil on social media, and not function without any filter.
As the 30 for 30 points out, Christian Laettner averages 72 mentions a day on Twitter, and that number goes up to 318 during March Madness.
“90% of it is all in good fun, but then you have the people who cross the line, and are just a little too crude,” Laettner said in the film.
Getting back to the conference call today.
“I think what we’re seeing now, with Curt Schilling, and the people making very bold and vulgar remarks about Curt Schilling’s daughter, and I think we might see a shift in that because you can’t make these kind of vulgar things with the feeling that there’s not going to be any retribution,” said Karpf.
“I think we’re seeing more and more with workplaces and colleges, we just saw with the Oklahoma fraternity with that video that was posted and circulated online that there is repercussions to what you say online,” he continued.
“Rory, let’s do some repercussions right now,” Laettner chimed in.
“My son was on SportsCenter with me about an hour ago and some nice, friendly person from Kentucky Tweeted ‘I wonder if Laettner’s son is going to be as much of a douchebag Laettner is?”
“Let’s start with those repercussions right now because what happened to Curt Schilling is happening to me because my son joined me on the set of SportsCenter. So the repercussions need to start happening now.”
It’s just disgusting the types of things people say to one another on Twitter. Not just celebrities, athletes and public figures, but all of us have been through it. Your phone buzzes. You check it. It’s a Twitter notification. Someone is telling you how much you suck at life or how much they wish you dead or saying something vulgar and disgusting about your loved ones. We’ve all been there. Especially with Christian Laettner, one of the most polarizing athletes of all time.
That Kentucky jackass should suffer some repercussions for what he/she did.
The full Q & A audio is embedded below. The discussion about social media and the haters begins at the 12:30 mark. However, you really should listen to the whole thing, because the entire question and answer session is phenomenal.
There’s even some talk about the Fab 5 calling Christian Laettner “a pussy” and “a bitch.”
Here’s the link to the vital when and where to watch info) Here’s the link to our review/critique of the film. Remember though that the version we watched is a “rough cut,” as ESPN PR told us, and could end up being somewhat different from the version that will air Sunday night for the general public.
Still, this one is could be at the top of the ESPN 30 for 30 all time top ten list. The documentary is about much more than basketball, or even the story of just one basketball player. It truly is a movie about society, where we’ve come since 1991 and how far we still need to go.
“I Hate Christian Laettner,” directed by Rory Karpf (“The Book of Manning”) and executive produced and narrated by Rob Lowe, will premiere Sunday, March 15, at 9 p.m. ET after Bracketology on ESPN.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. You can read Banks’ feature stories and op-eds in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and hear his regular guest spots on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)