LenDale White, Former Players Take Sides Over USC Loss On Twitter
USC football’s loss to Utah on Friday night prompted a host of reactions from former Trojan players, including a Twitter feud between Zach Banner and LenDale White and a lengthy message from Lawrence Jackson.
USC football does not take losing well, particularly when the Trojans suffer their third loss in four games to start a season.
So it’s no surprise that social media has been full of frustration from USC fans, complaining about coaches, players and their performances this year.
After the Trojans lost to Utah, it wasn’t just fans who let their disappointment out. Former USC players were as vocal after the loss to Utah as they have been since the advent of Twitter. Those opinions sparked an argument between current Trojan lineman Zach Banner and former running back LenDale White.
The feud began when White criticized the Trojan’s performance on Friday night.
On top of criticizing the Trojan coaching and decision making, White singled out Banner for shaking hands with the opposition after the game.
Banner responded to White following the game but deleted tweets which accused White of being kicked out of the last USC game he attended and of being irrelevant.
The disagreement between the two picked back up on Saturday morning with White taking offense to being called irrelevant and Banner responding in turn.
@zachbanner73 forever relevant look around campus. My 3 straight national championship teams did tht ✌️ is for victory. Not velvet softy
— LenDale White (@THEREAL_LENDALE) September 24, 2016
@THEREAL_LENDALE your reason for tweeting about me was shaking hands with the opposition after a game. That’s dumb. All good sports do that.
— Zach Banner (@zachbanner73) September 24, 2016
@THEREAL_LENDALE you talk about being great. Act that way all the time then. Sam Cunningham was with us patting us on the back.
— Zach Banner (@zachbanner73) September 24, 2016
@zachbanner73 pat on the back don’t win games!! Be accountable!!! Make plays!! Win when ur suppose to
— LenDale White (@THEREAL_LENDALE) September 24, 2016
@THEREAL_LENDALE you know dam well that we played our asses off. Mistakes happen, and we can’t change the outcome afterwords. Grow up man!
— Zach Banner (@zachbanner73) September 24, 2016
@THEREAL_LENDALE while you’re on Twitter talking crap about your university instead of being there. So your opinion is automatically shunned
— Zach Banner (@zachbanner73) September 24, 2016
@zachbanner73 boy stop I’m talking about big soft ass players looking like Tarzan playing like Jane!!!
— LenDale White (@THEREAL_LENDALE) September 24, 2016
@zachbanner73 that the problem wit u fake a$& “Hollywood” players want somebody to hold ur dam hand. This football big boy. Drop yo nutts
— LenDale White (@THEREAL_LENDALE) September 24, 2016
@THEREAL_LENDALE the other stuff about u gettin kicked out was trash talk because u brought my name out. You need to just chill and spectate
— Zach Banner (@zachbanner73) September 24, 2016
@THEREAL_LENDALE you were a great player at SC, and everything in terms of team I wanted for mine in wins and glory. But your tweets suck!
— Zach Banner (@zachbanner73) September 24, 2016
The exchange ended with Banner tweeting a general message to USC fans about support through rough times.
White had his own response about the nature of winning and losing.
Don’t worry #Trojan #faithful the way @zachbanner73 talking we always hv next week to lose
— LenDale White (@THEREAL_LENDALE) September 24, 2016
During the exchange, other former Trojans weighed in, including Terrell Thomas and Alex Holmes who sided with the former running back.
Anyone who impugns @THEREAL_LENDALE’s character is clueless.Lendale is a champion,he loves his university & what he sees is killing him
— Alex Holmes (@Trojan81) September 24, 2016
No respect is why SC sucks now, Hollywood era lost 6 games in 5 years. Pay homage and shut up! https://t.co/psb5uu4f56
— Terrell Thomas (@TerrellThomas24) September 24, 2016
Despite the in-fighting, there was a former Trojan who advocated calm on social media on Saturday.
Lawrence Jackson took to Twitter with a long series of tweets after the White-Banner spat:
I love you guys, it’s my two year anniversary and I have to drop off an ice cream order before 3 and I need to iron my shirt…#FightOn✌️
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
There’s no question that the 1-3 start has fractured the USC community. The big question now is whether or not the Trojans will rally to repair the damage.
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