Report: Coach Pitino Social Media 'Poisons'

Rick Pitino doesn't like it and believes his Louisville team is better when players stay away from it.

"Every hour, it's like taking a little bit of poison," Pitino said during an appearance Wednesday on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike." "It poisons their minds.

"I think technology is a great thing in many instances, and I think it's poison in others, and for people in sports especially."

Pitino has banned his players from tweeting, and if it were up to him, he wouldn't let them use any other social media forum either.


Kentucky coach John Calipari, however, disagrees with that view entirely.

"This is no disrespect," Calipari said on "Mike and Mike" during an appearance Thursday. "The coaches you mentioned [Pitino, Tom Izzo], they know nothing about social media. Nothing. They don't do it. They feel it's another job."

Pitino said his players concede they use social media at least four hours a day.

"I'm trying to get our players to read more, pay attention to important things," the Hall of Fame coach said.

Pitino believes using social media impedes a player's ability to communicate.