Coleman Hawkins Very Transparent About Online Hate While At Kansas State

Coleman Hawkins makes a stunning confession about his mental health affecting Kansas State's NCAA Tournament aspirations.

Mar 8, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats forward Coleman Hawkins (33) goes to the basket against Iowa State Cyclones center Dishon Jackson (1) during the first half at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images / Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Kansas State's Coleman Hawkins discussed his mental battles dealing with social media and online hate all season long.

Apparently, it was more detrimental than we thought. Hawkins went as far as to say that the Wildcats would be playing in the Tournament if he didn't let the outside opinions affect him.

"I felt like I wasn't the best for them to get us in those situations and fight for adversity," Hawkins said on a Mar. 21 episode The Field of 68: After Dark podcast. "That's why I kind of apologized, because I felt like if I was at my best and blocked out the noise and the hate, we'd be playing in the Tournament right now."

Hawkins dealt with negative comments before as a star forward at Illinois. However, his large NIL deal and the massive expectations last season attracted more criticism, especially with Kansas State falling way below its Tournament expectations.

"When there's a narrative about you, you kinda start believing things," Hawkins said. "'Oh, he's not worth this, he's not worth that, you paid him [$2 million].' You know? So, that was kind of what was going on with me. I just had to get out my head. Some games I played free, some games I didn't. I think it would've helped more if there was more structure, but our team was kind of at randomness at times."

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.