Update: 2:20 PM UR has responded to the “tweet controversy” set in motion yesterday by saying the photo of one of their players was altered in an effort to “[arouse] controversy before the Richmond-VCU game.”
Update: 2:20 PM UR has responded to the “tweet controversy” set in motion yesterday by saying the photo of one of their players was altered in an effort to “[arouse] controversy before the Richmond-VCU game.”
UR spokesman Will Bryan said the original image of Jones giving the middle finger was real, but the text “FUCK VCU” was added by “an unknown third party” who “took a screen shot of that [middle finger] post.”
Bryan went on to say the image was then “distributed by a discontinued Twitter account that falsified its representation as a Richmond fan.”
“The Richmond athletic department and the men’s basketball team are committed to a culture of sportsmanship surrounding all actions of our players and staff,” said Bryan, who clarified they were handling the issue internally. “We have done our due diligence to find out the facts behind this controversy, and present them now as we understand them.”
So according to UR, in the words of Senator Vreenak…
Original post:
Trash talk is part of the game, but some think UR’s Guard might have gone too far in a recent tweet.
ShawnDre Jones, the University of Richmond Basketball guard in question, sent a pretty clear message via twitter to VCU’s basketball time yesterday AM – a solid middle finger and “fuck VCU” screen capped from what appears to be a Snapchat post.
Jones, originally from Houston, TX, was called Player of the Year by High School Hopefuls back in 2013. He was scooped up by UR shortly there after where he played in 30 games in his freshman campaign, starting two, and was ranked 12th in A-10 in three-point FG percentage.
The Snapchat post was captured by a local VCU fan, and went viral on twitter. It soon came to the attention of VCU sports blog VCU Ram Nation, who retweeted the pic. After Ram Nation picked it up, all hell broke loose.
UR guard ShawnDre Jones (@Dre_Ctmd5) just gave VCU some serious ammo for Wednesday night… pic.twitter.com/OjHvIpwTuq
— VCU Ram Nation (@VCURamNation) February 23, 2015
The image made the jump to Facebook and local businessman and Scotts Addition Advocate Charlie Diradour made a pretty drastic suggestion:
“The University of Richmond may want to consider suspending this player.”
Should Jones face the ax when UR and VCU face off this week? Let us know in the comments below.
Editors note: This article originally listed Charlie Diradour as never an RVA city councilman, he ran against Charles Samules in 2012 but was never elected. He has been a vocal supporter of growth in the city since. We apologize for the mistake and have made corrections in the text above.
