The NFL fined Chad Ochocinco $25,000 after violating the social media policy. Ochocino tweeted to his faithful followers at 6:50 pm and again at 9:53 pm during the 8:00 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
According to his Twitter account, Ochocinco tweeted at 6:50 with “Just talk to Kelly Washington, Desean Jackson, Geoff Pope, Hank Bassett and I caught a ball from Mike Vick, I love prw-game warm up.”
After being fined, Ochocinco apologized to the NFL via Twitter saying, “Dear NFL I apologize for tweeting during the game but that was two months of my Bugatti payments you just took from me, I won’t do it again.
The NFL has long had in place regulations for media outlets, but adapted a social networking media policy in September of 2009. The policy allows players, coaches and team personnel to participate in social networking year round. However, the NFL has prohibited updates to social networking sites 90 minutes before a game and until post-game interviews are complete. The policy extends beyond players and coaches to prohibit any of their personal representatives and any media in attendance from posting game updates through social networks.
The NFL released this statement regarding social networking “Longstanding policies prohibiting play-by-play descriptions of NFL games in progress apply fully to Twitter and other social media platforms. Internet sites may not post detailed information that approximates play-by-play during a game.”