The latest NFL play: Think before you tweet
Antonio Cromartie was fined after he complained about the San Diego Chargers' training camp food on Twitter.
This can be attributed to ease of use and accessibility. Give someone a microphone and they’ll have something to say. Put a microphone in every cell phone and Internet user’s hands, let it broadcast to all four corners of the world, make everything searchable, and you get Twitter-mania.
But should National Football League players be allowed to sound off all the time via Twitter? The answer is no. Games, scrimmages and closed practices should remain sacred. Can you imagine Chad Ochocinco scoring a touchdown, then making a beeline to the bench, shunnning high-fives in favor of a few moments with his cell? Easily . . . but if you’re like me, the thought makes your stomach turn.
I’m not saying players shouldn’t have the right to speak out. Last week’s fine of Antonio Cromartie for complaining about the food at training camp was a bad move by the Chargers. Legally, they were within their rights — Cromartie likely signed an agreement with stipulations regarding public statments about the organization — but ethically, it’s more than excessive. If the offending message was something to the effect of “Norv needs to run the ball more, what an idiot,” then that’s releasing strategic info and an image attack. Double the fine.
What I’m saying is that in our ravenous search for information as fans, we’re encouraging a slow cheapening of the games themselves. In these days of halftime on-the-field interviews with players and coaches (which are awful and pointless), we fight and claw for every tidbit we can get our hands on, and reward those who facilitate it with follows, blog posts and retweets. A new generation of players, raised in the information age, realizes the importance of maintaining an online presence, or “social resume.” Players will need to walk the fine line of coming off as secretive and reserved versus upholding their commitment to representing the team’s image.
As long as everyone recgonizes that Twitter is a tool just like any other media or recording device, we’ll be OK. It can be used for good. Sending updates to fans regarding game-day parking issues, special offers and public injury reports are all examples of the power it has. But tools can be misused; just ask the Patriots about improper camcorder use. The NFL made a move in the right direction by classifying Twitter the same as any audio- or video-recording device, meaning it won’t be a problem come gameday. Currently, decisions regarding use during camp and other official activities is left to individual teams, but don’t be surprised if social media is a major topic at 2010′s ownership meetings, and even the 2010 rookie symposium.
Players only need to remember a bit of yesterday’s wisdom, revamped for today — Think before you tweet.
SAN DIEGO NEWS NETWORK: Cromartie tweet fiasco raises larger NFL questions
NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE: For NFL players, it’s tweet at your own risk
Or they can just set their accounts to private.