By Brittany Burke
In today’s world more and more people are relying on the Facebook status update and news feed or a tweet update in 140 characters or less. Social networking can be a good or bad thing; whether or not it has a place in the elusive world of professional sports remains to be seen.
One of the appeals of Twitter or Facebook for a sports fan is you can “like” or “follow” your favorite professional athletes. With one click you become a part of their world, but can too much access be a bad thing?
Admittedly I love following Giants’ Steve Smith on Twitter. One of his latest posts involved the antics in the weight room. Taken on his phone you see some of the most notable Giants players showing off for the camera and having fun or in Eli Manning’s case, yelling at him to put the phone down.
Smith uses the account to bring the fans into the world he is grateful for, not to attack other players or the association he plays for. While he may utilize the concept of social networking correctly, the same can’t be said for other pro athletes.
The latest NBA drama heightens the theory that social networking and sports do not mix.
After losing to the Boston Celtics last week, Charlie Villanueva tweeted about Kevin Garnett saying, “KG called me a cancer patient, I’m pissed because, u know how many people died from cancer, and he’s tossing it like it’s a joke.”
Seriously? I am in agreement with ESPN.com writer, Jemele Hill, or all the things that have been said by athletes to one another what Garnett said hardly tops a worst of list. I’m not saying calling Villanueva a cancer patient was right, but he was doing it to get under his skin, a tactic used by athletes of all ages. However, since Villanueva took the insult to Twitter it’s grown into a controversy.
Trash talking has been around much longer than Twitter has, but Villanueva took the use of Twitter to a whole new level. It is tweets like this that cause commissioners to ban the use of Twitter.
In the NFL players can’t tweet 90 minutes prior to the start of a game through post-game interviews and officials can have no part in the use of social networking. The NBA then followed suit and banned twitter usage 45 minutes prior to the start of a game through post-game, oddly enough that was right around the time Villanueva chose to tweet during half time.
I understand why the commissioners would want to protect the integrity of the game. On the one hand, yes everyone has freedom of speech, but some things should be left in the locker room. What player or coach would want to have their dirty laundry broadcasted to all their fans, especially by someone within the organization?
If done in the right manner, Twitter can give the sports fan a look into the world that they themselves can only dream about, but when do you draw the line of how much access is too much access?