Transparent Idiocy: Athletes and Social Media

Whether you love it or hate it, social media is here to stay and only seems to grow stronger by the day. I think it can be an awesomely effective tool for businesses to connect with customers. Almost as if the technology has pushed us so far forward that we’re lapping the old days in which company presidents/owners can talk directly to the people they serve and call them by name. If used properly, it can be a very powerful resource.

On the other hand, I do get tired of seeing the tweets about what you’re eating for lunch or the Facebook updates apprising me of the big game you’re about to watch…Yes, the Super Bowl is on. Yes, your snacks are handy and your beer is cold. Yes, that was an awful call. Please break your own thumbs so we don’t have to read this anymore.

But back to the advantages of social media. Never have sports fans been able to connect more easily with their favorite athletes. Chad Johnson (formerly Chad Ochocinco (formerly Chad Johnson)) used to go out of his way to connect with fans, whether it was tweeting out that he would buy dinner for those that met him at a certain restaurant or inviting a Twitter follower to his wedding. He’s not currently on an NFL team and he’s no longer married, technically, but that’s beside the point.

However, social media has embarrassed more than a few athletes. From Rashard Mendenhall’s Twitter rant questioning the morality of the Bin Laden killing (“We’ve only heard one side”) to the Greek triple jumper getting booted from the Olympics for a racist tweet involving Africans, West Nile mosquitos and home made food. Or a highly rated high school football prospect getting expelled from his high school and having multiple scholarship offers pulled due to vulgar tweets.

Some consider the relationship between athletes and social media a growing concern. But I think it’s helpful. Think about it. Sometimes it’s shocking to learn the indiscretions of some of the athletes that we place on such a high pedestal. But if Tiger Woods would have been tweeting about all of the women he was spending time with, we wouldn’t have been surprised when his wife took a golf club to his car and all of his “lady friends” saw nothing but money fall out of it like a pinata right before they came forward.

I’m just saying that social media has made it somewhat easier to potentially see what people are really like. And if someone is dumb enough to tweet or post something on the internet that’s racist or vulgar, aren’t they doing all of us a favor by showing their true colors? “Normal” people can get fired from their job for putting stupid things online. It’s only fair that athletes lose endorsement deals for their irresponsible actions and thoughts. Twitter just makes it easier for the world to see who you really are. It reminds me of the Bill Cosby joke when he was told the appeal of cocaine is it’s ability to intensify your personality. He says, “Yes, but what if you’re an a$$hole?”