New Orleans Saints Draft: Social Media Repercussions

The players that will be preparing for the upcoming draft will need to be careful. In 2017, the awareness of social media has to be known. Hopefully, the agent has done his job of warning potential draftees. While most of the rhetoric will never be read. One insensitive tweet or post could harm your draft status.

The Saints and the other 31 teams that did not win a Super Bowl are looking. The Black and Gold will be looking for that rare gem in the draft to help them move forward. Under Loomis and Payton, there have been plenty of talent found through the draft and free agency.

That being said, the players that are coming out now are young men. Some of them have never really faced any type of media and fan interest before. Perhaps in bigger media markets, the transition can be a struggle. At the very least, learning just the NFL game and terminology can be a challenge.

Just this past week, Pittsburgh Steeler WR Antonio Brown got into huge trouble. He decided to tape his coach in the locker room post game and run it on Facebook Live. Not a smart decision. Afterwards, the world got to see coach Mike Tomlin in a non flattering way. This action caused embarrassment to the Steelers as well as the team. Brown was punished for his action internally.

This is a player that has been there and done that. Think about the number of players that use the various forms of social media in this day and age. Surely, Twitter and Facebook can be a fun little hobby to have for many. It’s an outlet to reach fans and family across the world. Years ago, the sharing of pictures and videos were just simply fantasy.

Now though, players coming out of college must know that the social media world is always watching. Fair or not, one tweet can bring an inaccurate perception of someone. My advice would be this. Just pretend your grandma is watching your every tweet or post. Would you say or do the same thing in front of your grandma?

Furthermore, if there is a player that already has a label attached to him, a post that only reinforces the perception may become an unfortunate reality. In other words, the label will be attached to that player for months or even years. Especially, if there are people that have a hidden agenda. It’s just too risky. Putting out tape on your football play on the field is one thing. On the other hand, showing off or making disparaging comments could bring consequences. No one else knows more than former player Junior Galette.

One moment he’s voted to be one of the captains of the Saints’ defense. A year later he was released because of a YouTube video that went viral. That along with other issues did him in. There’s just too many examples out there and incidences that show lapses in judgement. The risk is simply not worth it. The pain that it causes the player, family, and friends is just a shame really.

Just be careful out there. There are several people out there that are just waiting for a story or maybe just looking for revenge. Just don’t give them any ammunition. Be yourself yes. Just be very sure before you hit that button. Once it’s out there, it’s fair game. No one is perfect. Just make sure if there’s any doubt whether or not something is controversial, take a step back. Maybe even reach out for advice before it’s too late.