Arian Foster and the Dark Side of Social Media in Sports

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Arian Foster and the Dark Side of Social Media in Sports
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The social media age has been a very interesting time for players in the National Football League.

Some players have used media like Twitter to communicate and connect with fans, while others have had problems with restraint and PR nightmares.

It appears that one of the more active and outspoken players on Twitter is calling it quits, as Houston Texans running back Arian Foster posted on Monday that he intends to shut down his account.

The 26-year-old running back, who has nearly 375,000 followers (this author included), didn't offer a reason for leaving the site, but it could be that Foster has simply grown tired of the flak he catches for speaking his mind.

That's something that Foster has never been shy about, including this week.

That openness on Twitter, along with his sense of humor, has gotten him into trouble in the past.

Back in August of 2011, Foster took to Twitter to chastise fans who were apparently more concerned about their fantasy football teams than they were his injured hamstring.

That tweet caused a stir in media circles about Foster's apparent disdain for fantasy football, forcing him to clarify his remarks


Just a few days later, the controversy was renewed. As Cindy Boren of The Washington Post reported at the time, Foster tweeted out an MRI of his injured hamstring along with his own diagnosis of his malady.

A minor uproar ensued over Foster revealing what was perceived as privileged team information, which led to Foster tweeting, "If I had a ‘significant injury’ why post it? I'll be fine, it was jus[t] meant to make fun of the whole situation. Humor is lost nowadays."

Therein lies the problem that likely led to Foster closing up shop. He is one of a number of NFL players whose tweets are sometimes insightful, sometimes amusing and usually interesting.

As someone who spends a fair amount of time wandering around the Twitterverse, I've read a lot of them. Thousands of others have done the same.

However, when you're expressing yourself 140 characters at a time, it can be pretty easily misunderstood or taken out of context. And almost any time you say something online, there is bound to be someone who finds it to be bothersome and/or offensive.

And the people who don't like what you have to say are generally about nine million times more vocal than those who do.

The real shame may be that while Foster appears to be closing his Twitter account down, there are still countless other players who can't log in without seeing how far they can get their foot into their mouths.

Take former Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams wide receiver Titus Young, who tweeted himself right out of a job in the Motor City with such pearls of wisdom as, "Like I said I never been selfish but if I'm not going to get the football i don't want to play anymore," and, "Oh I'm not done, if y'all going to cut me let me go. I'm tired of the threats."

Leon Halip/Getty Images
"I can get my foot THIS FAR into my mouth!"

The Lions cut him all right. So did the Rams—before Young ever even stepped on the practice field for Jeff Fisher and Co.

Then there was running back Rashard Mendenhall's controversial tweets after the death of Osama bin Laden.

Or Antrel Rolle of the New York Giants comparing fans booing a football team to soldiers being booed when they return from Iraq.

Or this gem from 2010, when Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson blamed God after he dropped a game-winning touchdown pass.


Granted, many of these tweets, and the innumerable gaffes just like them, were made by reasonably intelligent men who then thought better of it and then deleted them.

The thing is, this is the Internet age. Once it's out there, there's no going back...ever.

And that may be the other reason why Foster decided enough was enough. If you say something stupid, you're never going to hear the end of it.

If you say something that isn't stupid, guess what? Someone won't like it, and you're never going to hear the end of it.

For that reason, I can't blame Foster for calling it a day. Especially when a few tweets create a bizarre Twitter feud between you and an over-the-hill professional wrestler with a severe case of potty mouth.

But that doesn't mean I have to like it, because at the end of the day, the Twitterverse is going to be a little less interesting without Arian Foster in it.

And that's too bad.

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