LIVIN’ HIS DREAM: Ed Cooley Dunks on Providence Trolls

Cooley reminds the burners that Georgetown is where he wants to be.

Rule number one, when it comes to talking to internet trolls, is “do not engage.” Yesterday, Ed Cooley broke the cardinal rule when he spoke to Fox Sports about the zero-truth, “false news” rumors indicating mutual interest in replacing Tony Bennett at Virginia. Cooley took the opportunity to cast shame on the fake-news Providence fans spreading the lies, saying, “I’m where I need to be. I’m where I want to be,” and “This will be the last college job I have.” His message to the obsessive PC fans was clear—move on.

Why did Cooley feel a need to say this? Well, the bigger question is this: was some Fox Sports journalist really duped by the “wildfire” rumors or did Ed Cooley orchestrate this super-serious exclusive statement to dunk on the Providence trolls? It seems obvious to this humble lunch-blog contributor.

After leaving Providence for Georgetown last year, Cooley has generally avoided engaging with these sick-in-the-head PC trolls. The Providence fans’ infatuation with Ed Cooley has transcended from a sports rivalry to something really sad and twisted. Still, Cooley doesn’t comment on their perverted rumors, he didn’t comment on the fan-fiction documentary movie, and he doesn’t engage with the racially charged messages spewed in the direction of him and his family.

Now, he’s alluding to Martin Luther King, Jr. in addressing the so-called “PC Burner Community.” Go get your own dream.

Cooley told Fox Sports, “[I]t’s unfortunate that people jeopardize livelihoods, jeopardize people. It’s unfortunate. But Martin Luther King’s dream will protect them too. They can dream somewhere else. But don’t dream on my dream. I’m living that dream.”

With one statement—and an allusion to MLK as a counter the racial undertones of many of these Providence trolls—Cooley has preemptively frozen all future fake news reports of him leaving Georgetown. He’s not leaving.

When he says “This will be the last college job I have,” he’s also saying there is no need to ask him again about leaving for another head coaching position. Those fake rumors will also be false. Georgetown fans need not worry. Recruits need not worry. Tim Brando need not worry—yes, Brando was duped for a moment.

Next coaching vacancy, don’t bother mentioning Ed Cooley’s name, because he isn’t going anywhere. Don’t spend time making fake graphics. Don’t draft false reports. Don’t take the bait. Cooley is living his dream at Georgetown. He’s where he needs and wants to be.

Perhaps he felt bad about his buddy Brando’s mistake, because engaging with these fake-news rumors is not something Cooley has done recently. Sure, Cooley shouted back at a heckling Seton Hall fan about being “Rich as shit, rich as a motherf*cker,” but the tone was fun and, after careful research, the fact-checkers found no lies.

At BIG EAST Media Day yesterday, literally no one was talking about the unfounded, troll-generated rumors of Ed Cooley taking another coaching job. Let’s be honest, Virginia has their hand-picked successor and no program is looking to poach a coach coming off a losing season. But the joke was still retweeted thousands of times, and everyone knew its origins.

Then—in an “exclusive interview,” away from day’s media scrum—someone at Fox Sports reported the fake tweets as “rumors” and got Cooley to comment:

Several media outlets reported that Cooley was the front-runner to replace Bennett and that the two parties were in advanced talks surrounding the role. However, Cooley set the record straight on Wednesday, putting an end to those rumors in an exclusive interview with FOX Sports, saying there is “zero truth” to that rumor and that he fully intends to remain the head coach at Georgetown.

Come on. No one—not even this producer at Fox Sports who asked the question—actually believed it. The “rumors” were already put to an end. It was obviously an unnecessary exercise.

Correcting the record (when no one believes the incorrect record) is rarely done without a larger purpose. Cooley essentially magnified a non-story by addressing it. Why would Ed do that? Why elaborate on fake news?

Ed Cooley does not do things without a purpose. He clearly had a plan.

In addressing the fake rumors, Cooley proudly declared to those trolls that he isn’t leaving Georgetown, as well as reiterating that he is in a place superior to Providence. Again—short of Brando momentarily taking the bait—only the Providence fans care. They need to move on from their obsession with the past.

There’s no hiding that Cooley and Georgetown had a rough season last year, but Cooley is not running from a challenge. He is not soft. He does not give up. He is not afraid to struggle. He is not afraid of failure. He does not merely preach resilience and toughness, he lives it.

With that Fox Sports exclusive, Ed Cooley dunked on the PC burners, reaffirmed his commitment to his current players and recruits, and inserted himself into the national conversation on a media day pretty much dominated by the two-time champions. Cooley is no dummy. He turned their sick jokes into a reminder that he wants to be at Georgetown (more than Providence). They did not win by getting acknowledgment, they lost.

The trolls are led by two fake news accounts. Take this time to block, mute, and/or report Simon Fucking Charles and Rob “Fake Newspaper” Reinhart. They are not real. Do not fall for it. Do not engage. They are PC trolls.

But if you do find yourself engaging, consider taking some time to teach them a little bit about MLK’s dream. Like Cooley implied, it’s time they moved on to their own.