Bereft of sporting events to cover thanks to Mother Nature, I want to pick your brain on a current popular TikTok dealing with relationship age gaps, coaching and small towns.
As I was watching the Ravens trounce the Browns over the weekend, my girlfriend showed me a video from the popular social media platform.
The video, from the account @meganator_, had a whopping 1.1 million views and told a story about this young woman’s hometown, where her former assistant high school girls basketball coach announced a new relationship over the holidays.
This new girlfriend is 20 years old. The coach, meanwhile, is 39.
The author takes issue with the gap in their ages, especially since this man is presently a girls basketball assistant coach and is a substitute teacher.
It’s not known, or at least I haven’t seen, how long they’ve been dating. Though she does have an October birthday if that matters to anyone.
The video also explains that the girlfriend went to the school’s rival high school and played basketball, so the man coached against her when she was a minor.
In essence, the video paints the scenario as creepy, and the comments are in agreement. A connection is understandably made between the age of the young woman and the players he’s coaching.
Come to find out, my girlfriend was teammates with the author of the TikTok and had the same assistant coach in her basketball playing days, and the story takes place in relatively nearby Southern Maryland. Small world.
I’m curious what others think about this?
On one hand, we’re talking about two consenting adults, so nothing legally was done wrong. I’m not sure if you can fire someone for not “passing the vibe check.”
With that said, if I had a daughter or sister playing for this coach, I think it would make me uncomfortable. I can’t really describe the feeling, other than to say it makes me feel “icky.”
The coach graduated high school in 2003. She was born in 2004 … yikes.
Still, people in this Southern Maryland town seem to be mostly supportive of the relationship. There are even former players congratulating the couple. Maybe myself and the social media vultures online are butting our heads where they don’t belong.
If something like this occurred in Allegany County, would there be outrage? I don’t know. Maybe it already has in the past and nobody cared.
It’s an uncomfortable thing to talk about, but sometimes uncomfortable conversations need to be had.
Maybe I’ll write a follow-up if I’m met with some illuminating responses.
Let me know what you think, email: arychwalski@times-news.com.