WVU QB Clint Trickett A Twitter Quitter After Controversial Tweet

West Virginia quarterback Clint Trickett found himself in an uncomfortable spotlight this week after Deadspin posted about a tweet that didn’t go over well with a lot of people. It didn’t take him long to delete the original, but through the magic of the internet the screen capture will live on forever.

Thanks, internet!

Image: @ClintTrickett9 via Deadspin

The sentiment was widely condemned as sexist and/or misogynistic and the tweet quickly went viral.

Although there were, naturally, plenty of people who were desperate to defend Trickett. Those who either agree with the sentiment or hate how “sensitive” “society” has become—of course there’s substantial overlap in those populations.

Decrying the “liberal nanny state” enforced by the “PC police” and the idea that women are only good for two things (sex and sandwich making) tend to go hand-in-hand.

Despite finding some support for his situation online, Trickett exercised a bit of good judgement by issuing an apology and some semblance of an explanation:

“I sent out a tweet on July 17 which was misunderstood. I apologize for any confusion that the tweet has caused. I never intended for it to be derogatory or hurtful, but rather a tongue-in-cheek comment, while watching CFL football game with a female family member. Again, I am sorry that my tweet was misunderstood, and I will use a better choice of words int he future.”

A day later the apology, much like the original offending tweet, have disappeared from Twitter. The only difference being that Trickett has disappeared right along with it. As of Wednesday evening his account had either been deleted or suspended.

Given the continued fallout from the event, Trickett, who transferred to WVU from Florida State in 2013, made a wise decision—even if his absence is only temporary. Football season is just over a month away and this certainly qualifies as the dreaded and proverbial distraction. 

WVMetroNews noted the story broke “the same day [WVU coach] Dana Holgorsen praised Trickett’s leadership capacity and Texas coach Charlie Strong referred to social media as ‘the downfall of society.’”

In June Trickett was named the Mountaineers starter. At this point there’s no indication that this whole hullabaloo has put his status in jeopardy.