Amid Racism & Abuse Claims, Did 'Depressed Fan' Sniff Out Colorado State Coach's Twitter Burner Account?

It’s been a rough week for Colorado State football, as the program has been shut down while the school investigates allegations of racism and verbal abuse, in addition to a report from the Coloradoan that the team was telling players to hide coronavirus symptoms so that practices could continue.

Amid these troubles a “Depressed fan” of CSU sent us a tip on what sure looks like the burner account of new head coach Steve Addazio (or a suuuuper scary stan).

The account was started in December, when Addazio was hired at Colorado State following seven years at Boston College, in which he went 44-44 with a 1-3 bowl record. The account follows just 12 (including Addazio’s verified account) and is followed by 106, including Rams reporter Eddie Herz of the Loveland Reporter-Herald. Most of the tweets from the account are innocuous. but it’s hypersensitive to criticism of Addazio, often asking users to remove negative tweets while claiming to have inside knowledge of Addazio’s thoughts.

On Dec. 2, former NFL player and BC alum Josh Keyes detailed how he was banned by Addazio from Eagles games. On Dec. 31, @ramscsuhc asked him to delete it.

On Friday, college football insider Brett McMurphy tweeted CSU athletic director Joe Parker’s statement about “allegations of racism and verbal abuse from CSU’s athletic administration generally and the football program specifically.” This prompted a series of comments by @ramscsuhc, including the hilarious, “WHICH HUNT!” (Some Deadspin editors are reportedly dead after seeing this tweet).

We’ve consulted with Twitter experts who believe these statements might be more believable if written thusly:

sTeVe AdDaZiO aLwAyS pUtS cHaRaCtEr AnD iNtEgRiTy FiRsT!

Update: Minutes after this story was published, @ramscsuhc, ever vigilant in its pursuit of defending Addazio, tweeted to us:

Keyes isn’t the only BC player who expressed delight that Addazio was fired in December. Running back Andre Williams took to Twitter to recount how Addazio snubbed him when he was being honored at a Boston College vs. Wake Forest game.

It should be noted that multiple CSU players have denied The Coloradoan’s report, and Addazio released a statement regarding the team’s COVID-19 protocols:

“We have developed a comprehensive COVID-19 prevention plan in collaboration with the University’s Pandemic Preparedness Team which includes specific, strictly enforced processes and procedures to build and maintain a culture of safety, compliance and responsibility to all members of the football program and the community,” Addazio said. “The health and welfare of our student-athletes on the Colorado State football team is our top priority, and I fully support President McConnell’s investigation into concerns about whether these protocols were properly followed by everyone involved with our program.”

The racist allegations appear to stem from former player development coach Anthoney Hill, who was fired from his position in December after expressing concerns about Addazio and the pay of Black coaches.

According to ESPN:

In his response to the university’s termination letter, Hill told Parker he was concerned about the lack of pay for the African American coaches on the staff. He also said he had concerns about nepotism after Addazio hired his son, Louie Addazio, and Urban Meyer’s son-in-law, Corey Dennis. Parker said Meyer had been an adviser during the search for a new coach.

Hill’s letter described a harmful culture, suggesting he’d witnessed racially insensitive comments under (former coach Mike) Bobo and worried about a similar environment under Addazio.

Surely @ramscsuhc would never! But anyway, “Coach,” here are some tips from our sister site Lifehacker on running a proper burner account: