What NOT to Tweet

Last week's blog post was about two great examples of how athletes can use social media the "right" way. In this post, I wanted to look at the other side of social media.  As I was exploring the internet this week in hopes of finding a blog topic, I came across a quote that really stuck with me:

"What happens on social media stays on Google forever"

I read this statement over again a few times. What happens on social media stays on Google forever. As a student-athlete myself, I've had a few lectures on what kinds of things we should and shouldn't be posting online. In my head, I've always thought to myself "even if we were to post something bad on the internet, they would just ask us to take it down and that would be the end of it". Wrong. With technology today, for example, a tweet that was only posted for a single minute and then deleted can be screenshot and saved forever. Also, it doesn't matter if you're the star of your team, one of the worst people on your team, or not an athlete at all. Posting something negative can be saved and held against you in years later.

The best example I can use to show you how one tweet stuck with someone for years is the recently surfaced Cardale Jones of the Ohio State football team. Cardale Jones entered this past 2014 football season as a redshirt sophomore and was considered the Buckeye's 3rd string quaterback. Because of injuries, he made his first start at the end of the season in the Big 10 Championship Game. He led the team to a 59-0 victory and was named the MVP of the game. His second start of his college career came in the Allstate Sugar Bowl where he help his team beat #1 Alabama and advance to the National Championship. His third college start came in this championship where he let is team to yet another vicotry over the Oregon Ducks. Jones even considered entering the 2015 NFL draft but has recently decided to return to Ohio State next season.

While Cardale Jones had a lot of surprising success on the field in 2014 and 2015, the name Cardale Jones was being related to a different topic in the media. The buzz was about a tweet that Jones had sent out two years ago.

In 2012, Jones tweeted "Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain't come to play SCHOOL classes are POINTLESS". At the time, Jones was 3rd on the depth chart and hadn't played a single down for the Buckeyes. Most people that hadn't followed him in high school didn't even know who we was yet. The tweet was taken down the same day but many media outlets had captured the tweet before it was gone. Jones was suspended for one game for his words.

While the tweet was posted two seasons ago, it was a hot topic from the commentators during this year's National Championship when they were discussing Jones' college journey. Luckily, Cardale Jones has learned form his mistakes. I currently follow Jones on twitter and his tweets are much more appropriate and entertaining now. His "bad" tweet was featured in a textbook at Ole Miss as an example for what not to do on social media sites and Jones has since commented and apologized for his actions. The lesson learned from this story: be careful with the content you provide the public because as soon as it's posted, it's out there for good. 

Walked Out That Exam Like 🚶Keep The ✏️
— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) December 15, 2014

3rd String 😏 pic.twitter.com/fxdFbFSJeR
— Cardale Jones (@CJ12_) January 2, 2015