There is no denying the power of social media. Some of its uses are for breaking news, campaigning for a cause, sharing helpful hints, celebrating victories, rallying around a disaster, gossip and debate.
For those who use social media, it can be a way of life or a guilty pleasure. Twitter is one such medium and it seems to have a staunch opponent in NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.
McNabb, whose public and professional persona have taken their fair share of hits over the years, was in Chicago this weekend and was asked by ESPN 1000 of his thoughts about Twitter. This is what he had to say….
First of all I’m not a fan of twitter. Nothing against their program or what they have, but as an athlete I think you need to get off twitter. All these social networks of you tweeting about you watching a game when you wanna be playing in it, but you’re mad you’re not playing in it, so you’re gonna criticize someone that’s playing in it. I don’t believe that that’s the right deal.
That’s not professional by any means and you know we are all in a fraternity, so if you see a guy who’s struggling this isn’t the time to jump on him or kick him while he’s down because that same guy will come against you and kinda blast your team out the water, so I think for an athlete to be twittering is the wrong move. It’s one of those things to leave to the fans and let them comment on certain things, but athletes need to get off twitter.
Interesting.
It seems Donovan is making generalizations. While some athletes have suffered missteps from things they’ve said on Twitter, most enjoy a harmonious existence there and the fans love it, i.e. @ochocinco.
Most pro sports teams utilize Twitter, even Donovan’s current team (@RedskinsDotCom), as do coaches (@ozziegullien )and owners (@jimirsay, @mcuban). Should they all get off of it too.
Donovan will probably never join Twitter, and there are enough great, engaging athletes who have joined that he won’t be missed. What he might not understand is he could probably benefit from an open engagement with his fans. But, he’s “not a fan” of Twitter so he’ll never know.
