Oh Twitter, why do you torment us?

If anyone was ever wondering why Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo just shakes his head at the idea of Twitter, they must understand it now.

Some Michigan State football players certainly found that out over the weekend after taking to Twitter and jumping on the poor performance of Michigan and quarterback Denard Robinson in a 41-14 loss to Alabama on Saturday.

It was not dealt with lightly by coach Mark Dantonio.

“I think it’s disrespectful,” he said Tuesday. “I don’t think that’s something that we should be doing, so I’ll deal with that on my end. … Our guys need to keep their mouths shut. Is that blunt enough? … especially those that aren’t even playing.”

And at least one of the players involved – linebacker Denicos Allen – was disappointed in himself. “It was something that I’ll learn from,” Allen said. “It’s time to get over it and move on from it. It was a big deal, but I didn’t think it was going to be as big a deal as it was. I definitely know not to Tweet about opponents. I was setting a poor example for this program and it was uncharacteristic of me. I don’t do things like that.”

Added quarterback Andrew Maxwell, “Guys know the ramifications of it. On Saturday night there were a couple instances of poor judgment. I didn’t see exactly what was said, so I can’t really comment on what was said or why they said it. But we know the ramifications and the responsibility as players that what we see will be seen by a lot of people and we need to exercise better judgment.”

In the grand scheme of things it is hardly a big deal. No one should be surprised that college players would relish in their rivals’ woes, and that’s no different at Michigan State. It can, however, put the program in a bad light. In that sense, Dantonio made the absolute right move by forcefully letting everyone know that it is not acceptable in his program.

It will likely add to the war of words that is intense between Michigan State and Michigan, but it should also not serve as an indication of anything more than college kids making poor choices.

And somewhere, Izzo is shaking his head, likely saying, “I told you so.”