"This is championship-level stupidity" - Fans blast former NFL coach for tone-deaf tweet on Ukraine crisis
In the past week, Russia has invaded Ukraine in hopes of taking control of the country's capital of Kyiv. More than 120,000 have fled Ukraine since Thursday's initial assault, and border crossings are overfilled with refugees. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that the country will stand its ground and repel enemy attacks, as they have before.
The entire situation is a sensitive matter, and one former NFL coach seems to have found himself in the crossfire (no pun intended).
"I never tweet anything about politics, but today is an exception. As I watch Russia continue their invasion of Ukraine this morning, I ask if Americans that want socialism are watching? Do you want to be a part of something like this?" Weis wrote on Twitter.
I never tweet anything about politics, but today is an exception. As I watch Russia continue their invasion of Ukraine this morning, I ask if Americans that want socialism are watching? Do you want to be a part of something like this?
Charlie Weis is a four-time Super Bowl winning coach in the NFL, winning one as an assistant with the New York Giants and three as an offensive skills coach with the New England Patriots. He is 41-49 as a head coach in the NCAA, leading Notre Dame from 2005 to 2009 (35-27 record) and Kansas from 2012 to 2014 (6-22). He retired in 2014 but that hasn't stopped him from making headlines. His recent tweet about the situation in Ukraine drew fury from Twitter users.
Author John Pavlovitz may have had the best take on Charlie Weis' comment.
"This is championship-level stupidity," Pavlovitz wrote on Twitter.
@charlieweissr This is championship-level stupidity.
@MontyBoa99 is one of many who have tried to "educate" Weis on how wrong his statements were:
@charlieweissr Congratulations for posting the non-sequitur of the day.
Socialism an economic system in which the means of production are owned collectively by workers or the community, not by 3rd parties like shareholders.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia is socialist.
twitter.com/charlieweissr/…
@IslandGirlPRV posted a photo that can summarize just why Weis' comments were wrong:
@charlieweissr https://t.co/Q02gU3ImVi
Charlie Weis called out socialism even though Social Security is a socialist program and the UK is a socialist country. @ProgBullwark pointed that out to him:
@charlieweissr Are you aware that Social Security is a socialist program. That the UK is a socialist country. Do you even know the meaning of the words you are using? Perhaps it’s for good reason that you don’t talk politics. Leave it to people who understand the actual concepts
@Boston_Grandpa called out Weis for being "privileged" and wrote that it's no wonder he "doesn't post about politics" often:
@charlieweissr Things Charlie Weis never has to worry about: Food insecurity, housing insecurity, police brutality, eduction inequities, pension theft, job security, discrimination, wage theft and many other things the majority of people face. The good ole boy network has taken care of him.
@ElieNYC's tweet is scary with the realization that Charlie Weis was indeed an educator for many young men in America:
@charlieweissr I never tweet about football, but today is an exception. As I watch the galactically stupid takes from college coaches Charlie Weis and Tommy Tuberville, I ask if Americans realize THESE MOUTHBREATHING IDOITS WERE EDUCATORS! We should start making college coaches take the ACT.
@OurDailyBears made it personal with Weis by bringing up the fact that he gets paid to not coach football... you read that right. Weis was bought out of his contract by Notre Dame and continues to receive checks to this day:
@charlieweissr Can I pay you not to tweet like your typical arrangement with schools and coaching
As @Dascoochie pointed out, Weis' statement was always going downhill from the first sentence:
@charlieweissr Sentence 1: declares has no knowledge or understanding that politics and war are two different tho bc s
Sentence 2: demonstrates lack of knowledge generally and specifically to Ukraine and also socialism
Sentence 3: has no connection w first 2
Are you ok sir?
@Brett_A_Taylor's edit of the tweet gives the same message as the initial tweet from Weis:
@charlieweissr Fixed it for you. https://t.co/nCQ2lH59Yn
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused massive stir in sports world
Poland and Sweden on Saturday refused to play against Russia in the FIFA World Cup playoff qualifying matches next month. In a tweet, the president of Poland's football association, Cezary Kulesza, made his country's intentions clear.
"No more words, time to act! Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off match against Russia. We are in talks with [Sweden] and [the Czech Republic] federations to bring forward a joint statement to FIFA," Kulesza wrote.
and 
federations to bring forward a joint statement to FIFA.No more words, time to act! Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off match against Russia. We are in talks with 🇸🇪 and 🇨🇿 federations to bring forward a joint statement to FIFA.
Sweden has said it will not play Russia on any field and has pushed for FIFA to cancel all of Russia's matches.
The International Olympic Committee has condemned Russia for its actions and urged all international sports federations to cancel all their events in the country.
Ukrainian athletes like the Sacramento Kings' Alex Len and the Toronto Raptors' Svi Mykhailiuk are being rallied around by their fellow athletes as they ask for prayers for their homeland and families in Ukraine.
Russian athletes are also taking a stand against the actions emerging from their homeland. Tennis pro Andrey Rublev wrote "No War Please" on a camera lens after winning the semi-final round of the Dubai Tennis Championship.
"No War Please"
An emotional appeal by one of the most courageous sportsmen of recent times, Russian Tennis star Andrey Rublev. https://t.co/mox2EPZXKz
Rublev ended up winning the Dubia Tennis Championship on Saturday morning, which only puts more volume into his words.