Several professional athletes use Twitter as a way to communicate with their fans. However, there have been several incidents in which athletes have criticized their organization on Twitter or used Twitter at inappropriate times. Terrence Williams, a first round draft pick for the Nets out of Louisville, criticized the coaching staff about his playing time early in the season on Twitter. Williams tweeted, "Up early to the gym before practice to practice before practice, because NOW practice is my games. Welp that's life." Clearly, the Nets found issue with his tweet and Williams later apologized. Charlie Villanueva while on the Milwaukee Bucks tweeted at halftime of his game and was later instructed by the team not to tweet during games. In some instances, it may not be what an athlete tweets but what a relative or friend tweets that affects the athlete. Last year, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals was involved in a controversy thanks to his brother Marcus criticizing the Cardinal's quarterback Kurt Warner about not throwing to Larry enough. Marcus later apologized on Twitter.
Although Twitter can be a great forum for marketing and promoting a company, product, or team, there are several pitfalls. Twitter definitely makes more work for people in public relations especially when they have to monitor all members of their company, organization, or team. Although many high-profile athletes may avoid the serious consequences of their tweets, other people may not be as fortunate and could be fired or sued based on their tweets. There are several other incidents similar to those mentioned above, and unfortunately, I'm sure there will be more in the future.
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