Tom Izzo shreds fan behavior on Twitter: 'I think it's disgusting'

There have been major changes in how fans interact with athletes thanks to social media. That fan behavior can often cross the proverbial line, which is something that Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo has noticed and finds disgusting.

Following the season, Izzo explained that his goal is to protect his players. Twitter, and other social media platforms, make that a very difficult job to do, though.

“But I am going to protect,” Tom Izzo said. “So, if you want to know about players that have left, players that — [I] have discussions with everybody, and I’m going to try and protect all of them. I hate Twitter. So, I don’t think I’ll be getting any NIL deals with Twitter. Okay? I really don’t give a damn. I think it’s disgusting what they do to these human beings.”

Social media has become a major challenge to navigate in recent years for athletes and coaches. In particular, how fans interact by attacking players can be a major issue that feels as if it’s impossible to escape. Legal sports betting has added to that too. In 2024, North Carolina star Armando Bacot called sports betting “terrible” for players who will get DMs over lost bets.

Tom Izzo has seen those issues and issues with how fans interact with players who are transferring out of a program. It’s hard to force a change, but he does want the Michigan State fanbase to be different than that typical approach.

“I just want us to be different at Michigan State,” Izzo said. “If we can’t be, that’s your prerogative, but I’m going to be.”

Social media widely speaking can be a challenge for many people to navigate. It often offers anonymity to people and can skew perspectives. It’s also commonly used so, while Izzo himself may be able to avoid it, many fans and players are going to continue to find themselves both on it together and interacting.

Tom Izzo explains why he will return for another year of coaching

Now 70 years old and having accomplished everything there is to accomplish in his coaching career, Tom Izzo isn’t done yet. Instead, he wants to keep doing what he loves.

“I keep thinking to myself: living your dream. So I’m still living the dream. Is it a little bit foggy? Hell yeah it is. Is it a little bit harder to navigate? Hell yeah it is. So what do I do? I call Jonathan. I call Adam. I call different coaches. I call coaches again all over the country that I don’t even know, just to get a feel, just to get some information, just to get some help. ‘How you dealing with it? What are you doing better?’ When I quit doing that I’ll probably hang it up,” Izzo said.

“But I’ve got no interest in hanging it up when I still have the passion, the love for the game. I absolutely love my day-to-day dealings with my players. I love my job. I love the university I work for. I have not respected my profession as much. Because I don’t think we’ve done a good enough job of helping our people navigate these problems. And we caused some of the problems in certain ways, too. So that’s my take on that. I still have a passion. I still have energy. I still want to make a difference. I still want to help kids live their dream, and I get to live mine. All the right reasons.”