Canzano: Monday Mailbag deals with break-up posts, Nvidia, Oregon title hopes, Pac-12, Blazers and more
Your questions. My answers.
The conspiracy theorists out there won’t like this, but the recent string of “break-up” posts on social media by departing Oregon State women’s basketball players aren’t being mass-produced by some greasy agent.
Some of the posts used identical fonts.
They had a similar style.
Folks on social media wondered if the carbon-copy feel of the farewell posts indicated that the exodus was an orchestrated effort. I reached out to several departing players. They confirmed the posts were produced by the same person — a fellow OSU student who is a graphic designer.
Talia von Oelhoffen posted hers first. Then, came Timea Gardiner, followed by a half dozen other teammates who have since entered the transfer portal. The whole ordeal is heartbreaking for fans and a gut punch for the program. But as one of the OSU players in the transfer portal told me on Monday: “This isn’t about NIL or money or anything like that. It’s about playing top competition… nothing against the WCC.”
The break-up letters?
“Done by the same person we are all close with,” another departing OSU women’s basketball player confirmed.
A third Beavers’ player offered: “With many of our posts, we all asked the same friend, who is good with that sort of thing, to add our words to the picture of our choosing. The words are our own, as we just wanted to thank everyone who has helped us on our journey so far. We had someone put it together, and since it was the same person, the font looks the same.”
While I was digging for answers about the break-up posts, I reached out to several coaches in the Pac-12 and other conferences to ask what it’s like to see public goodbyes from players they recruited and coached.
It can’t be fun.
One of the most interesting responses came from a Division I men’s basketball coach who said the break-up letters he’s seen feel like they might be crafted using ChatGPT.
He said:
“‘Blah blah blah, thanks this and that,’ and then here it comes… ‘With that being said, I’ve decided to enter the portal. Blah blah blah.’ Most coaches think they’re ridiculous. Just like a trend on TikTok, they just copy the others I think.”
This week I received Monday Mailbag questions about the Pac-12 Network, logos, The Masters, Oregon’s national-title mission in football, Nvidia founder Jensen Huang, Damian Lillard, Angel Hernandez, Jody Allen, the Blazers, MLB, and more.
If you already have a paid subscription, thank you. You won’t miss a thing. If you’d like to share my work with someone else please consider a gift subscription for a friend or family member. Or donate a subscription to a senior on a fixed budget.
Onto the mailbag…