Colorado and Michigan compete for most tone-deaf, deleted game poster of the week

Being edgy on social media is in. It's still possible to cross a line, as the social media teams for the Michigan Wolverines and Colorado Buffaloes figured out on Friday.

Ahead of games against Minnesota and UCF respectively, the two football programs dropped game posters with questionable subject matter. Specifically, they seemed, accidentally or on purpose, to reference flooding with a deadly hurricane currently pounding the Southeast.

Both posts were eventually deleted but the internet is forever...

Michigan was the first to run afoul of the weather references. They very quickly pulled their graphic. That's what made Colorado's all the more jarring. The Buffs clearly weren't paying attention.

Colorado and Michigan likely didn't mean to offend with tone-deaf graphics

Perhaps these were honest mistakes. Michigan isn't even playing near the area impacted by Hurricane Helene. It is forecast to rain this weekend in Ann Arbor but only lightly. The decision to depict a flooded Big House was odd, if it was incidental.

Colorado's post was even more tone deaf. They might have had the concept conceived well before the immense threat of Helene became clear. Safety Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig, who is depicted in the graphic, is nicknamed Shark. So, it's easy to see how this one came about.

Still, anyone who has been paying attention should know about the catastrophic flooding in the state of Florida right now. A game between Liberty and Appalachian State has already been canceled because of the storm. Posting an image of water up to someone's waist isn't the play right now.

This isn't that serious in the grand scheme of things. It's mostly cringe. I think it's safe to say neither of these social media teams meant to make light of a storm that's already claimed dozens of lives. It's fair to give them the benefit of the doubt there.

This is just another reminder to think before you post. These missteps could have been avoided with just a little bit of sense.