By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

I’ve always viewed social media as a type of reality show, with the participants often leaving out anything negative, manipulating what you see to fit whatever narrative they’re trying to sell.

The only difference being that on social media it’s playing out in real time, not at a weekly designated time.

Most of the time I’ve spent on Twitter has been pretty disheartening, but there have been moments where it was borderline magical.

One instance was almost a year ago when people were updating videos and pictures of Josh Pastner sitting at the ACC tournament, as he received messages on his phone, concerning the NCAA’s notice of allegations that were levied against his Yellowjacket program.

It was one of those occasions where I couldn’t refresh my phone quickly enough to keep up with all the posts and comments.

Normally, I don’t take joy in other people’s misfortunes, but Pastner has made it fairly easy for me to root against him; reading about the Georgia Tech scandal and some of his comments towards it is a good place to start.

Even though this event took place almost a year ago, I bring it up because as Georgia Tech is currently looking at their third straight losing season, while dealing with NCAA sanctions due to things that transpired under Pastner’s watch, it’s about that time of year to question whether or not the Yellowjacket coach will be back next year.

On the surface, the answer looks to be cut and dry- “No”. There’s not really much of a reason to keep him on staff and in all honesty, I wasn’t even sure Pastner would make it to this season-outside of the infractions. I don’t think he’s great of a coach to begin with.

I have no idea which way the administration is leaning, but there’s a part of me that actually hopes they don’t let him go.

In far too many instances, when a coach or program is punished for breaking the rules, the guilty party doesn’t have to suffer through penalties. While the coaches and players that follow have to do all the heavy lifting, the guilty party stays out of the spotlight for a year or two before getting back into coaching at a smaller school and working their way back up.

If Georgia Tech were to keep Pastner on, it’s the perfect example of “you’ve made your bed, now you must lie in it.”

Instead of bringing in another coach to deal with the aftermath, and one who will probably lose his job because he’ll be dealing with a somewhat stacked deck to begin with, Pastner has to deal with it.

Personally, it would be nice to see someone have to actually face the scrutiny they brought upon themselves by their actions.

However, I’m realistic and I know this scenario isn’t likely to play out, mainly because it would entail Georgia Tech paying millions to a coach they wouldn’t want around, just to prove a point.

Still, I can’t help but feel, in a society where everything is filtered, how refreshing it would be to see an athletic program that knows it’s going to struggle for a few years, regardless of who’s running the show, bite the bullet and go all in the uncomfortableness of the situation.

It may not be realistic, but it would make the comments on social media an entertaining read.