The official word is that Ole Miss didn’t pull the plug on incoming freshman linebacker C.J. Johnson’s Twitter account.
Rather, Johnson decided to delete his account after talking with Ole Miss officials concerning some highly graphic, sexually suggestive and downright stupid things that appeared under Johnson’s Twitter username (@dandydozn10) .
The translation: Don't you dare even think about going on Twitter again until you’ve proven that you’re mature enough to handle it.
By no means is this an attempt to pile on Johnson. He’s not the first kid (or adult) to say something inappropriate on Twitter. He won’t be the last, either.
Still, it’s another reminder of how big a pain in the you know where Twitter can become for college coaches and those who oversee college programs.
Not only are kids mindlessly tossing things out there that could potentially jeopardize promising careers, but they’re the kind of things that reflect poorly on the entire program and poorly on their families.
Plus, the NCAA is monitoring social networking sites as closely as ever.
Don’t think so? Just ask North Carolina.
Hey, I’m all for freedom of speech. But if I’m a head football coach, I’m also all for protecting my program.
Given some of the filfth and other nonsense we’re seeing pop up on Twitter these days and some of the consequences, how could you blame a coach for banning Twitter among his players, or at the very least, implementing some very rigid guidelines?
Rick Cleveland, the esteemed columnist for The Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger, has a checklist for athletes to consider before tweeting. The SEC would be wise to make it required reading for all of its athletes.
Maybe even coaches, administrators ... and bloggers, too.