By Jake McCormick
As a Green Bay Packer fan, I was happy to hear that head coach Mike McCarthy has threatened a fine of $1,701 if a player uses Twitter during game day. It clearly shows that he wants his players thinking about nothing but the task at hand; a mentality that I fully condone given the results of the 2008 season. I’d rather see Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Grant studying game photos after an interception, fumble, or touchdown than tweeting about it when the FOX camera pans the sidelines.
But other NFL teams haven’t been so quick to quarantine the Twitter virus before it spread around their locker rooms, as seen with San Diego Charger Antonio Cromartie’s training camp food problems and Minnesota Viking Visanthe Shiancoe’s boredom with meetings. Cromartie was fined $2,500 and Shiancoe explained that his “zzzzzzzzzzzz” tweet was during an administrative meeting, not team meeting. I don’t even have to explain Chad Ochocinco’s Twitter fetish and his quarrel with ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth, as it seems to be the “Jon and Kate” story of the NFL.
It’s easy to argue that athlete tweets during games can give fans a chance to feel more “in the moment” after a touchdown or big play and allow them some view into the athlete’s mindset at that time. I’ll also say that in-game Twitter use will force reporters covering the team to ask more difficult questions than “what were you thinking during that one-handed catch on fourth down?” and will add more to post-game stories and storylines throughout the week.
Unlike the fan site-like Facebook and MySpace, Twitter allows celebrity-athletes to show the public a small peak into their daily lives in 140 characters or less. The problem is that word limits can create ambiguity, as seen in the case of Shiancoe, and speaking/acting in the moment isn’t always the best idea. See: Prince Fielder vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers and any stupid decision you’ve ever made when it was a better idea to cool off and collect yourself. I’ve been there way too much, trust me.
But since there is already an NFL-wide issue with Twitter use, and we haven’t even started the regular season, what other problems will in-game tweets create and how will it affect a team’s chemistry? Considering the NFL already has rules similar to airplanes during takeoff, as any sort of electronic device is prohibited by players and coaches from when they arrive at the stadium to the end of the game, it will be awfully hard for an ego-maniac like Ochocinco to follow through on his promise.
The NFL has already started a process to update those policies to include social media networks, which should effectively make in-game Twitter use a non-issue by Week 1. Feel free to take notes on prevention instead of reaction, Major League Baseball. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ochocinco or Terrell Owens happily paying the fine for more publicity and followers. Unfortunately, the good ol’ U.S. of A. loves their People magazines, “reality” television, and the Days of Favre’s Lives. I’ll admit that I’ve been a sucker for conflict, and the bottom line is that it works better than any sales pitch out there.
Tweeting on the sidelines might seem interesting at first, but it’s a controversy because of its disruptive and often selfish nature. The last thing an NFL team needs is for its best players to voice their concerns to the public without sending them through a coach first. Fans want to feel confident that there is no “i” in team, and Twitter use in-game will do more harm than good to that cliché.
I think the most compelling argument is just that it’s for their own good–you made that point in the Fielder example. I mean seriously, we can all get hot about stuff, but better to be rational about it than start regretfully Tweeting.
Second, if we could compare it to any other professional “job”; your company could take whatever action against you for whatever it wants to, should you fail to follow suggested protocol and go through the appropriate channels within the organization before badmouthing policies or goings-on in the public arena. In that sense, a fine is logical. Some companies may even terminate and the NFL’s not theatening that.
I know there are harmless tweets that free speech is great for. It’s the other side that the NFL is at least trying to curb…I can’t knock them too much for it.
Right, this is a much more sane and reasonable policy than what the SEC is all about. I don’t think the NFL policy will create as much of a backlash and rebellion as the SEC policy.
And yeah, I’d rather the players be more focused on the game than Tweeting during the game, but in training camp? cmon. practice can be so zzzz zzzzzz zzzz, let em twitter
Fine points but I disagree with you on this issue. Sports are supposed to be fun and entertaining. I think the NFL could be even more popular (not that it needs help) if it loosened up a bit. Here’s why I don’t think runaway tweeting will be a problem.
1.) If a player wants to Tweet something after making a great play, I say go for it. While almost all of their time is dedicated to the game, they do have moments where they aren’t doing anything but basking in the glory of their greatness (The “Hi-mom-I’m-on-camera” moment, if you will.) I don’t think there is anything wrong with Tweeting here.
2.) Players will probably try to Tweet during times that are deemed unacceptable (in the huddle, maybe?) but no one polices on-field shenanigans better than the players themselves. If someone is doing something stupid, his teammates or opposing players will put a stop to it quick.
I just don’t see how any of this is possible if the NFL already bans any type of computer, PDA, or cell phone. I wouldn’t have a big problem with tweets after a good play, but I think you’d see a lot more negative and unprofessional stuff on bad teams later in the season. Imagine if they allowed tweeting during the patriots 19 and 1 season when they were running up the score on everybody. Brady wouldve talked a big one after that anthony smith call out, that’s for sure. Its not like smith didn’t deserve it, but players already let their emotions get the best of them on national television.
But don’t we love that about sports? Remember the playground days when we’d tease each other while playing sports? I don’t think trash talking would be that hurtful, especially for adults.
Besides, considering how awful my Lions were last season, I would’ve LOVED to read any Tweet from those final weeks of the season.
I’d envision Twitter being like fantasy sports and gambling … it gives you a reason to care when, under any other circumstance, you wouldn’t care.
I think can raise the stakes a little bit more during sporting events.