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.
We are a joke!!! This is f*ing horrible.
— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) September 24, 2016
Out coached. Period. 4th and short they go for it. We punt. Tf we doin Utah sorry as hell. So we really sorry
— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) September 24, 2016
On top of criticizing the Trojan coaching and decision making, White singled out Banner for shaking hands with the opposition after the game.
#73 bra u need to get it together. Big ass teddy bear all u wanna do is shake hands.
— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) September 24, 2016
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
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 (@ZBNFL) September 24, 2016
you talk about being great. Act that way all the time then. Sam Cunningham was with us patting us on the back.
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) September 24, 2016
pat on the back don't win games!! Be accountable!!! Make plays!! Win when ur suppose to
— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) September 24, 2016
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 (@ZBNFL) September 24, 2016
while you're on Twitter talking crap about your university instead of being there. So your opinion is automatically shunned
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) September 24, 2016
boy stop I'm talking about big soft ass players looking like Tarzan playing like Jane!!!
— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) September 24, 2016
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
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 (@ZBNFL) September 24, 2016
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 (@ZBNFL) September 24, 2016
The exchange ended with Banner tweeting a general message to USC fans about support through rough times.
Our team is our team. If you're an alumni and support us everyday, thank you. Because it's times like these where we need to be pulled up!
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) September 24, 2016
White had his own response about the nature of winning and losing.
Playing your ass off and winning is not the same thing!
— LenDale White (@thereal_lendale) September 24, 2016
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
Theeee audacity of this dude lol...
— Terrell Thomas (@TerrellThomas24) September 24, 2016
Unreal how you defend SC when you cant defend your QB, facts hurt and sacks hurts your QB...
I still respect, Lof, Mike P, Cody, Groots, Rodgers, BKU, J Leach, BMW, A Homles, Hancock, Kirtman, Poole, Champ, Webb... True OG's
— 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:
Dear SC fans,
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
There won't be another Pete. We created dominant times. Those times are gone. If we are SC. Let's FIGHT ON!!! Win or Loss.
We can't expect the same thing from every team every year because they wear the same uniform. Support the cultivation of greatness.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
This is a very young team, they need this experience moving forward. They'll appreciate it a lot more.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
SC is not a 'DREAM' job right now. Everybody knows that anybody who goes in has to rebuild. There's no other way around it.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
The more ruckus you guys continue to cause as fans the more pressure is felt and it's a continuos cycle of change...that's not us. We Build.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
They say Rome wasn't built in a day. We know it collapses in a day. Petes collapse started when Vince Young beat us. That changed us.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
We lost to Stanford...we couldn't get 1 yard before the half. And UCLA we couldn't get 3 yards...for a National Championship birth...
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
As a former player, I can't say anything bad about these guys. We lost the most important game. In a way that wasn't us.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
After that game...everybody thought they could beat us. We instilled fear...Vince Young himself destroyed the SC dynasty on that one play.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
I was probably the only guy to touch him on that run...I knew it was a wrap right there. We lost at home in front of everybody.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
As a former player I live with the embarrassment of that Texas loss. I hate burnt orange. I hate it. And I think I hate Texas.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
I was part of one of the biggest let downs ever for our school. We wiped out on a monster wave. But you guys showed up the next year.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
And the next year.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
And every year since.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
With the hope of greatness.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
It will come. Especially is recruits know the fan base supports them no matter what. No player wants to go to a fickle fan base.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
If you guys boo at home games, you might as well usher recruits to other schools. If you make it a party, they want to dance.
— Lawrence Jackson (@LoJackson94) September 24, 2016
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
Last but not least...former players we are not fans. We missed tackles and dropped passes too. I certainly missed quite a few sacks.
— 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.