Athletes and Media–Fines for Tweeting

Sports are entertainment. They evoke the deepest truths of humanity in the form of game and athletic drama. The American Sports Industry has capitalized on sports as entertainment and markets and makes billions of dollars on athletes and sports as entertainment.

But the fine line between sports and entertainment can become a blurry one. And where is the line drawn when players want to get in on the entertainment side of sports?

Twitter is an up and coming social network that is taking the world by storm. The abbreviated version of Facebook allows people the opportunity to ‘tweet’ about what they are doing, links or pictures they want to share with others, and have furthered to progress of social network interfaces. Celebrities and others are using Twitter to get their name out in another way.

Chad ‘Ochocinco’ is an athlete that has used twitter to talk with fans and give them an insight into his life as a NFL athlete. In a recent interview, Ochocinco said that, as related to getting involved, “And when the season starts, it’s going to get even worse. I’m going to really make it fun. I’m using Twitter during games. I’m using Twitter during half time. I’m using it after games. I’m taking it to the next level.”

The NFL is not impressed with his statement. Cell phones are banned on sidelines for various reasons. So it will be interesting to see the choice that Ochocinco will make. Will he be more of a team guy on the field, and promote himself in between plays on Twitter?

We’re curious what you guys think? Is Twitter worth being fined?