Making Sense of Khem Birch

By Ben Livingston

When Conan O’Brien left NBC’s The Tonight Show in the wake of the network attempting to push his start time back, the nation felt for him. He was a noble everyman, a wide-eyed comedy fanatic sacrificing his dream on principle. He was easy to relate to, and inspired sympathy.

But then everything started to change, as O’Brien embarked on a series of petulent actions that slowly turned him from a role model into a nuisance. First, O’Brien made a new Twitter account to voice his thoughts on his situation. Then O he went on 60 minutes to voice his displeasure. This was followed by the “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour.” Then came TeamCoco.com, and the commercialization of something that once appeared to be a genuine crusade.

By the time O’Brien started his new late-night franchise Conan on TBS, much of American had stopped paying attention. His self-indulgence showed swagger at first, but eventually it became overkill.
This is exactly what former Pitt center Khem Birch has managed to do in the days following his spontaneous, inexplicable departure from the team. In a short time, Birch has begun to turn sympathy into indignation, getting on the nerves of a fan base that once adored him and building his brand through infamy.
Like many tales of misguided celebrity, Birch’s story can best be told by Twitter- undoubtedly a mask-wielding, mortal enemy of the prominent.

Shortly after Birch’s departure, a number of disgruntled fans began to voice their displeasure, ruthlessly tearing into the 19 year old:

@MTLsGift bro you know what they say. When the going gets tough, the Canadians go home. #oaklandzoo #dontcomeback

— J Box (@TheRealJBox) December 17, 2011

@MTLsGift somebody told me you left cause the boys at Pitt weren’t hot enough? Smh — Matthew Clark (@mattyice_bath) December 17, 2011

@MTLsGift way to quit on your teammates. You didn’t quit on pitt you quit on them oh, have fun improving your game from your couch. Fool. — Sean Trageser (@srtst1) December 17, 2011

@MTLsGift hiding back in canada bc u can’t hack it at pitt & win a starting spot wo an injury.#smh — Twash BAG (@twash_bag) December 17, 2011

According to Ashton Gibbs, @MTLsGift tried hooking up with Talib Zanna and got the crap beat out of him — Zach Broujos (@zach_broujos) December 17, 2011

There were a number of other similar Tweets, many too profane to display here. On the other hand, scores of Pitt fans and other Tweeters alike jumped to Birch’s defense and took aim at these harsh critics:

@MTLsGift Ignore all the jerks. we were excited to have you at Pitt and are disappointed you weren’t happy. Wish you the all the best.

— Alli (@PittFanAlli) December 17, 2011

And you shouldn’t worry for a sec about them. RT @MTLsGift: Right now people are worried about my life just as much as I am ..

— Patrick Muldowney (@patmuldowney) December 17, 2011

@MTLsGift Khem, the people that have a brain and have a life away from sports respect your choice and wish you the best in what you do

— Matt Presto (@MattPresto) December 17, 2011

All Pitt Fans. whatever the reason is.. @MTLsGift is doing what will make him a better player and person. He still my boy regardless. #H2p

— Steven Funaki Adams (@AdamsSteven32) December 16, 2011

Members of the media and Pitt fans alike came to Birch’s defense, lambasting his vulgar critics. There was abundant sympathy for him, a feeling that perhaps the public didn’t fully understand his motives. Birch was not timid about coming to his own defense, showing a likeable streak of swagger as he responded to his critics:

Hiding behind your computer and tweeting smh — Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 17, 2011

One dude jus keeps on mentioning me lol like I get it u dnt like me !! Lol — Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 17, 2011

The fortitude apparent in these Tweets was somewhat relieving for those who had become worried about Birch. He seemed to be keeping his chin up and standing tall in the face of a rough stretch, the same way O’Brien did. Yet Birch, like O’Brien, didn’t quit while he was ahead. Instead of leaving the situation alone after the public began to take his side, he continued to push the matter. Birch began to Retweet sympathizers around the time of those earlier Tweets, which also continued in the days that followed, allowing all of his followers to witness his support firsthand:

“@KyleAnderson5: @MTLsGift dey needa let u live bro”; I kno smh but wtv gotta move on

— Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 17, 2011

Funny how one dude told me tht I should delete my twitter but all he does is @ mention me and call every name in the book.. Dnt get it

— Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 20, 2011

My followers r goin up!

— Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 20, 2011

Still got 30 yr old men @ mentioning me

— Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 20, 2011

zanna 1st says khem birch”cried”- changes to “well I wouldn’t say crying, but his face looked like he was.” he DIDNT cry, but u LIE #bitter

— K Martin (@Kmart0923) December 20, 2011

Birch also continued to fire back at his critics, until he finally started an apparent moratorium on Tweeting with this:

Bout to catch this flight I’m off this twitter ish til I make my nx decision !!

— Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 21, 2011

While much still remains in the air, and the Tweets have died down, Birch’s pattern of Tweeting is disconcerting. Taking a few chances to assert you’re standing tall is entirely understandable. Repeatedly driving home the notion that you’re the good guy is simply self-serving. Acknowledging sympathy is noble unless you attempt to capitalize on it. At that point, you’re simply whining.

Had Birch simply taken a couple good-natured shots at his detractors and left things at that, he would have had the high ground. Yet admist rumors of him leaving due to playing time complaints and a lack of toughness, repeatedly attempting to garner sympathy only hurt his cause.

While Birch was busy Retweeting supporters, he failed to address the rumors driving many of his critics. Not once during the past five days has he explicitly expressed thanks to Pitt fans, attempt to quell reports that he complained about playing time, or say anything that directly or indirectly suggested that he had a good attitude during his time at Pitt.

In fact, when WPTS contacted Birch on Tuesday in order to schedule an interview, he promised to get in touch later that evening, but failed to do so and did not respond to subsequent attempts to reach him (only selected correspondances are shown here):

@MTLsGift Khem- have an idea for you. If these fans are pissing you off, why not give them a piece of your mind? Come on WPTS this week man! — Ben Livingston (@937TeenWolf) December 20, 2011

@MTLsGift If you follow me real quick I’ll DM you details. Look forward to it man. — Ben Livingston (@937TeenWolf) December 20, 2011

@937TeenWolf i alreayd follow u — Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 20, 2011

(The above was not true)

@MTLsGift Just call or text me or DM as soon as you can with your number so I can get everything set up for you. Look forward to it man. — Ben Livingston (@937TeenWolf) December 20, 2011

@937TeenWolf think morning wil b good — Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 20, 2011

@937TeenWolf ok ima txt u tnite — Khem Birch (@MTLsGift) December 20, 2011

WPTS received no such text message, and as mentioned before, Birch has since stated that he will be taking a break from Twitter until his next decision is made. Even when those attempting to defend Birch offered him a chance to speak his mind, he didn’t seem to care.

Birch seems definantly self-centered, determined to make the world take his side. This can quickly turn him from a good guy into a nuisance, just as it did to O’Brien.

The true details of Birch’s departure from Pitt may not yet be available, making it too soon to jump to conclusions. Yet given the way Birch has handled the situation, it isn’t difficult to understand why some are already casting judgment.