Notre Dame coaches and players have been accused of being very brash with reporters after Monday’s loss.
The Fighting Irish did put up a fight after going down 31-7, and things may have turned out differently had they opted not to attempt that field goal, so the disappointment is understandable. But there are still expectations when you lose and, according to reports, the team did not behave very well when dealing with the media in the locker room in the wake of the heartbreaking result.
Dan Wolken, a columnist for USA Today, disclosed that players were yelling at reporters while coaches warned them not to ask certain questions.
“Bizarre scenes from the Notre Dame locker room, players yelling at reporters, coaches warning people not to ask certain questions,” he tweeted. “Amateur hour.”
One would be inclined to forgive a group of youngsters for being overly emotional after a tough loss, but as mentioned above, there are still expectations.
Reporter Claims Notre Dame Players Swore At Members of The Media In The Locker Room
Meanwhile, a fan asked Wolken whether he is entitled to answers from players. His response was that the locker room is open to the media, and reporters shouldn’t be “sworn at” for doing their jobs.
“I think that if the locker room is open, which it is for the CFP, reporters should be able to go in there and respectfully ask questions without being sworn at. If a player doesn’t want to talk, that’s fine,” he wrote.
Wolken does make a good point. However, some people feel it isn’t great to have athletes grilled by the press immediately after getting off the field.
While the result will sting for a while, Notre Dame will eventually look back on Monday’s loss with different lenses as they accomplished something special by making it to the final hurdle of a newly expanded 12-team playoff with an unlikely bunch led by a young coach.
Many expect them to be back.
