Kansas State’s Jerome Tang Says He Invites And Appreciates Fan Criticism
Kansas State assistant coach Jareem Dowling and coach Jerome Tang joined the Every Pod A Wildcat Wednesday morning to talk about the season so far.
When asked how he handles criticism from fans after losses or underwhelming performances, Tang simply replied, “They’re right.”
He doesn't dismiss the Wildcats fans' talking points, and even said he sometimes appreciates and resonates with their analysis.
“I’m disappointed in the games we lost and how we lost them,” Tang said. “I wanna win those games. Do I look at a game and say, ‘Man, we won by 18, we should’ve won by 40?’ Yes, I do that all the time. I looked at the game we scored 120 and still thought we could’ve scored more and held them to less. No one’s expectations are greater than ours, and I love our fans’ passion. It goes both ways, I can’t just love it when we win. I love it when we lose too.”
Tang recognizes the need for outside evaluation, which the fanbase can provide as consistent onlookers. Nevertheless, he did express that he draws the line between critique and disrespect.
“If I read into something and it’s an emotional one, I’ll usually just ignore it,” Tang said. “And there are some when they negatively talk about our players and they attack character, I’ll just block them.”
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.
Jayden is a journalism school graduate of Howard University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Terez Paylor scholarship award. He previously worked at the Orlando Sentinel.