ISU men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm said he has deleted his Facebook and Twitter profiles on Thursday to avoid waves of criticism after his team’s 1-3 start in conference play.

Prohm’s Twitter profile is still online as of Thursday evening. He was likely referring to deleting the applications off of his phone. 

“I deleted Twitter and Facebook just because I don’t need them,” Prohm said.

He said social media was a distraction, and he needs to focus on his players and his family. He added that “my focus doesn’t need to be anywhere else.”

“It’s hard,” Prohm said. “I deleted it now so I don’t have to see it. But it’s hard. I care. I came here to do great job here and I love this place, I love this school and the fans. I don’t want to let anybody down. So yeah, it bothers you and it hurts you as a human.”

Criticism on social media is nothing new for Prohm, who said he was also “beat up” by fans when he was at Murray State.

Prohm isn’t the first to give up social media this season. ISU forward Jameel McKay briefly gave up Twitter earlier this season. Georges Niang hasn’t tweeted since Oct. 5, and Monte Morris hasn’t had a tweet since Dec. 20.

“I haven’t been on Twitter,” Morris said. “I don’t even know what’s going on.”

Morris is still active on Instagram and said he has heard some criticism of Iowa State’s recent play on that platform.

“If they leave a negative comment, I might smile and say, ‘Appreciate it,'” Morris said. “[I] just take it all in. I’m not going to run away from social media.”

Though he has avoided Twitter, he said social media isn’t the reason for Iowa State’s recent struggles. 

“I know what type of player I am and what type of team we have,” Morris said. “Social media isn’t the problem, you know. We’re losing.”