The Tennessee Volunteers suffered a heartbreaking 26-20 loss to the Florida Gators on a hail mary to end regulation Saturday at The Swamp. The loss may move the Vols out of the top-25, and they now hold a 14-19 SEC record — 2-5 over the last seven — during Butch Jones’ tenure as head coach.
Naturally, many are blaming Jones for the loss and recent Vols’ struggles. That appeared to include SEC Network analyst and former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik:
Gene Chizik on @SECNetwork right now "We've just got to get Butch a nice tie for when he's sitting next to me up here on set next wknd"
— Will Lowery (@jwlowery29) September 16, 2017
However, it turns out that quote from Chizik is completely made-up, with SEC Network anchors Dari Nowkhah and Peter Burns among those to firmly shoot it down.
This was NEVER said. Ever. I have sat next to him all night. Someone starting idiotic rumors. https://t.co/tEr3ATCS5c
— Dari Nowkhah (@ESPNDari) September 17, 2017
I can confirm that this was NOT said. https://t.co/zNgx1eBkFv
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) September 17, 2017
https://twitter.com/BarrettSallee/status/909207701196087296
So, how does this happen? The (fake) quote was tweeted out by former Alabama safety Will Lowery, owner of nearly 18,000 Twitter followers and a blue checkmark. Maybe he just made it up, or maybe he found it from someone else (who made it up) and passed it along. Then people see the blue checkmark and follower count, and understandably assume it’s real. And that’s how it has nearly 2,000 retweets at the time of this post.
Hey, it’s possible that Butch Jones is indeed on the hot seat, and SEC Network might be interested in hiring him if he’s fired by Tennessee. But, Gene Chizik never actually spoke of this on television himself, despite what some people on Twitter may be trying to tell you.
[Photo Credit: Saturday Down South]
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.