WVU's Rich Rodriguez Bans Players From Dancing on TikTok To Keep 'Hard Edge'
Call it old-school, delusional, or unfair, but WVU Mountaineers football coach Rich Rodriguez is banning his players from dancing on TikTok moving forward, and he's got a point.
Rich Rod, returning for his second stint as WVU's HC, made his ‘triggering’ comments this week, going against the grain and prohibiting his players from partaking in oft-cringe-inducing dancing for ‘views.’

SYRACUSE - SEPTEMBER 4: Head Coach Rich Rodriguez of the West Virginia University Mountaineers after defeating the Syracuse University Orange on September 4, 2005 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. West Virginia defeated Syracuse 15-7. (Photo by Ned Dishman/Getty Images)
After all, they are grown men, so why the heck would they entertain dancing like a stooge for the cameras?
"They're going to be on it, so I'm not banning them from it," Rodriguez told the media Monday. He previously coached the Mountaineers from 2001 to 2007.
The coach is dead-set on keeping a ruthless edge over his rivals, refusing to look like easy meat for WVU’s pack of cutthroat contenders.
"I'm just banning them from dancing on it," he added. "It's like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever, and you're in there in your tights dancing on TikTok, ain’t quite the image of our program that I want."
WVU will need to hone its focus on winning more games amid the competitive Big 12, going 6-7 last season with a 5-4 conference record.
"I hope our focus can be on winning football games," coach Rodriquez added. "How about let's win the football game and not worry about winning the TikTok?"
Most resonant in his message was the concept of avoiding "TikTok fame" to keep the mentality of every Mountaineer player on the team rather than the individual.
While society pushes athletes to capitalize on their notoriety, Rich Rodriguez wants to keep the objective for his players real simple …
Just play the damn game.

MORGANTOWN, WV - SEPTEMBER 9: Head coach Rich Rodriguez of the West Virginia University Mountaineers on the sideline during a game against the Eastern Washington University Eagles at Milan Puskar Stadium, the home of Mountaineer Field, on September 9, 2006 in Morgantown, West Virginia. West Virginia defeated Eastern Washington 52-3. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
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