Ari Payne, a senior broadcast journalism student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, recently faced backlash from other students and alumni on Twitter. The backlash regarding his most recent article “Don’t expect Ryan Stanley to play in the NFL” began following its publishing in The Famuan.
In his article, Payne says that he did not think FAMU’s quarterback, Ryan Stanley should go to the NFL. Payne acknowledges that Stanley had a great career at FAMU, but argues that this is where his career will end.
FAMU students and alumni negatively reacted to Payne’s article on Twitter questioning why another student would write negatively on their peers.
Noah Harris, a graduating senior, even referenced the mentality “crabs in a bucket”, in reference to the article.
“The crab in a bucket mentality says that if multiple crabs are in a bucket, while one is clawing its way to escape, the others will tear it down. This mentality speaks on human behavior and I used it in this context to blatantly call the writer a hater,” Harris said.
Harris believes the article was distasteful and did not represent the university well.
“I believe the right to have an opinion, but the opinions/energy you choose to put into the atmosphere speaks about you as a person and this student, in my opinion, did not represent themself well,” Harris continued.
While Harris acknowledges J school students have freedom of the press, he thinks some things should be “left in your head, or your personal accounts.” Some students even questioned why The Famuan would allow such an article to be written.
Twitter user, @The1GoldenBoy, tweeted “That’s terrible Journalism from The Famuan especially with a D1 transfer quarterback coming into the program.”
Bobby Rondil, the sports copy desk editor for The Famuan, says, “Here at The Famuan we welcome anybody to voice their opinion as long as the information supporting the opinion is credible and accurate. We allow anybody to voice their opinion such as another student in James Williams who wrote a rebuttal in response to the article. So at the end of the day, we welcome all opinions as long as the information is correct.”
Payne says he expected backlash from the article, but he did not expect personal attacks.
“I want Ryan to know I have nothing against him. I’d be happy if he made it to the NFL and was successful. If what I said is proven to be wrong, I will be the first to write about why I was wrong,” said Payne.
Stanley says when he initially read the article, he felt like the writer had something personal against him, but he could care less. He was only shocked that the school would allow it to be published.
“There will always be haters… There were also a lot of people who stuck up for me and I’m thankful for everyone who has my back and all the real rattlers out there,” said Stanley.
Stanley also adds that he feels that the university supports him and has supported him throughout his career, and he still plans on entering the draft despite anyone’s opinion.