Jon Rothstein is a man who exists in a world entirely of his own making.
The CBS Sports insider lives, breathes, and sleeps college basketball, though he won’t get an ounce of REM until May. So Rothstein can possibly be excused from truly turning off his brain to the outside world. Of course, this is the same guy who would tweet out news of the College of Charleston scheduling a game with Rhode Island for 2034 during the Super Bowl.
He’s also someone who broke news while his wife was in labor. You get the picture.
But sometimes, having those blinders on can lead to moments like Thursday, when a seemingly unknowing Jon Rothstein posted what he thought was a fairly innocuous update. Instead, it came off as an inability to read the room.
Shortly after 12:30 p.m. ET, Rothstein tweeted out an update about UConn transfer Aidan Mahaney. He reported that the former Saint Mary’s Gaels guard would visit Florida State and Florida Atlantic this weekend.
Rothstein later amended the tweet, saying that Mahaney would no longer travel to Tallahassee that weekend. But there’s a reason for that, and it’s not because Luke Loucks’s program secured a commitment from another guard in the transfer portal.
It’s because a 20-year-old son of a Florida sheriff’s deputy opened fire on FSU’s campus, killing two and injuring six.
Rothstein seemed unaware of the gravity of the situation.
By the time he posted the update on Mahaney’s weekend schedule, we were already aware of the casualties and the identity of the shooter. And Rothstein’s tweet, stripped of any context, felt jarringly out of place. Instead of acknowledging the tragedy, it came across as more tone deaf than anything, without any recognition of the real-world events unfolding just miles away.
We’re not here to pile on Rothstein. Everyone knows his brand. The relentless updates, quirky catchphrases, and basketball 24/7. Love it or roll your eyes at it, that’s the shtick. But in this case, the inability to read the room rubbed many people the wrong way. And on a day when sensitivity mattered, that kind of disconnect didn’t go unnoticed.
This isn’t even Rothstein’s first moment like this.
Again, Jon Rothstein didn’t technically do anything wrong; he just did what he always did. He wasn’t deliberately ignoring the situation. But still, maybe — just maybe — it wasn’t the right time to hit send.