The NFL’s decision to ban players from twitter and other social networking sites near game time was not shocking to anyone familiar with the situation. With a commissioner who is constantly suspending players because of off the field actions, it’s not surprising that twittering during games will not be allowed. I don’t see the big deal, but I guess this is a less drastic step than the NFL has taken, banning referees from all social media use.
Referees are not full time employees of the NFL and therefore probably encounter “social media” in everyday aspects of their lives. What if a ref looses his job and tries to find a new one on linked on? What if a ref reads an article on google reader that is shared by one of his email contacts? I’m sure the intention of this rule is to remove outside influences on referees and ensure their safety, but “social media” is such a nebulous term that I have a hard time agreeing that all social media should be banned from referee usage. Google allows users to promote, remove, or comment on search results in an effort to make search more relevant. Once google begins to use this data to influence searches by others does that mean it has become social media and that NFL referees can no longer use google?
