Exclusive: CCU Head Coach Tim Beck explains why Hawaii photo with dance team was deleted
In an exclusive interview with The Sun News, Coastal Carolina Head Coach Tim Beck said it was his call to delete a viral photo posted on social media.
On Tuesday, Dec. 19, Tim Beck posed for a shirtless photo with CCU’s dance team, who were in matching teal bikinis, and CCU’s mascot on the beach in Hawaii. Coastal is playing against San Jose State in the EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl on Dec. 23, 2023.
Coastal Carolina’s football team initially posted the photo on its official Instagram and X accounts, and Beck also shared the photo via Instagram Dec. 19, 2023, before deleting it hours later.
Beck said he decided to delete the photo and did not consult with the university about making the decision.
“Nobody told (me) 100 bazillion percent, all me,” He said in an interview. “It was all me because it became a distraction. Almost immediately, there were posts, positive and negative, and I thought that was not what I wanted. That’s not what this was about.”
In a statement to The Sun News, CCU Director of Communication Jerry Rashid affirmed Beck’s position.
“To prevent distraction from the travel group’s preparations for Saturday’s game and other activities associated with such a trip, Coach Beck asked that the posts be removed from social media,” Rashid wrote in an email to The Sun News.
Beck also said that he’s heavily involved in what gets posted on the team’s social media and often makes the final calls on posting photos to social media. He added the blame was his for the post as he represents Coastal football.
“We follow all the code ethics, all the standards and policies, the university that are set, I’m sure the dance team does as well,” He added. “It was just documenting the trip, having fun representing the university.”
The university has a social media and a dress code policy for students and school personnel. A 2012 NCAA report also highlights what constitutes inappropriate relationships between student-athletes and athletic personnel.
It was unclear why the post was deleted and whose idea the photo was before Beck’s most recent comments. Both Beck and the university’s initial statements to The Sun News stressed that the photo op was not planned in advance. Beck again said the photo was a spontaneous shoot, as the dance team was already taking a picture with the mascot and asked Beck to participate, to which he agreed.
“We’ve had talks before about trying to do the (football) team with them, and I was like, ‘I can’t get all the team with them,’” He added. “Some of that conversation had taken place in the past.”
He added that, at first, he did not think the photo would be controversial.
“My wife thought it was a great picture. I thought it was awesome. My daughter, she loved it. She went to school (at CCU). I’m just trying to be me,” Beck added. “Deep down inside, I’m a fun guy, and I enjoy life, and you’re only going to go around this world once, and to have the opportunity to be a head football coach and try to enjoy the moments, that’s it.”
Some of Beck’s players cheered the post and the dance team thanked Beck for the photo in a since-deleted comment. Social media users mostly said the photo was a non-issue, but some said the post was inappropriate and a bad idea.
Others were not angry with the photo’s contents, but that it was deleted at all. Beck added that he didn’t read the comments but said friends and other coaches did send him some social media users’ replies, which he hasn’t responded to yet because the situation,” is a total distraction” and wasting his time.
“A hundred percent clarity on this; I haven’t read any (negative comments). I’ve learned as a football coach there’s always going to be people that love what you do, and there’s going to be people that hate what you do,” he said. “So reading them wins, losses, getting hired at all of it. Since the day I’ve taken the job, I don’t read what other people say. They’re all entitled to their opinion.”
While the photo received some attention when it was initially posted Tuesday evening, Dec. 19, the story went viral after being deleted from all of CCU’s social media accounts.
Outlets like the Daily Mail, Barstool Sports, the New York Post and TMZ also covered the story. Beck said he wasn’t aware of this.
“I’m the most social media illiterate person there probably is in the world,” he said. “I still use Facebook; that’s how old I am.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
