1st Twitter Related NFL Suspension: BSO Betting Odds

As the 2009-10 NFL season approaches, Twitter mania has reached a fever pitch, but not in the way you might think. In a possibly precedent setting -tailspin, ESPN is sending out memos warning against non-work related usage, NFL players are getting fined for “tweeting” about bad training camp food and the league is laying the smack down on their social media policy.

I tweeted yesterday (http://www.twitter.com/BlkSportsOnline) that it was just a matter of time before someone in the NFL is suspended for their use of Twitter (which would be dumb, but this is the NFL we are talking about.) In comedic response, Sam the African and I decided to put some odds together on who will be the first NFL player(s) to be suspended:

2 to 1 Chad OchoCino http://twitter.com/OGOchoCinco

If Chad is reading this he would probably say “CHILD PLEASE”, but the NFL’s poster boy for Twitter now has all eyes on him (I am sure he prefers it that way) as we make our way into training camp.

It was Chad’s tweet about his plans to use Twitter during games that started the process of teams, the league and major networks rethinking their policies in regards to the social media site..

Trust me, someone from the league office will be monitoring Chad’s tweets every Sunday like a shady reverend monitors the skirt lengths of his female congregates.

5 to 1 random lower level player

If I had to put money down this is what I think is going to happen. A bench player or practice squad player is going to innocently tweet something that he shouldn’t. The team and the league are going to pounce on the opportunity to make an example of him.

There are two reasons why they would do this:

1- They avoid backlash for suspending a star player.
2- Negative publicity for suspension of a star player scares the league

8 to 1 Terrell Owens http://twitter.com/terrellowens81

Everyone is always blaming for T.O. for SOMETHING, right? So why wouldn’t they blame him for misuse of Twitter too?

The outspoken star of The T.O. Show is actually a very sincere and interesting person on Twitter unless he is getting into battles like he is currently, with Jim Rome.

He speaks a lot about his life, his faith and in essence what it is like to be Terrell Owens. And, this is what Twitter is all about; sharing with others your daily lifestyle and persona.

But we are talking about T.O., and the media is monitoring his tweets closely, just as they’ve monitored all his activity. As soon as anything is revealed, even mildly controversial, it will receive top billing on Sportscenter.

20 to 1 Martellus Bennett http://twitter.com/MartyBTV

There is a perception that I don’t like Marty B because of the whole “Black Olympics” Youtube incident. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I love MartyBTV, I didn’t particular like that segment, but that was mostly because I think Martellus is a humorous dude with a lot of potential, on and off the field. I’d hate to see his reputation tarnished by a misunderstood video.

Unfortunately, for this very reason, he is on the list! Something like that posted at the wrong time during the season could be damaging. He was already fined last year for a Youtube incident and Twitter is just another social medium that can turn a small mistake into a big deal.

With that said, Martellus is a very entertaining tweeter and we wish him the best for the coming season.

37 to 1 Chris Cooley http://twitter.com/thecooleyzone

Chris Cooley likes to twitpic and we know what happened last year…. (Cooley Exposes More Than His Playbook) I’m just saying.

The silver lining in all this is, I can’t be suspended, so follow me and I will keep you up to date on all the Twitter news in the NFL!