NBA Players Can't Resist Twitter

Twitter has become a social networking phenomenon.  We can safely estimate that millions of users are currently utilizing the service to tweet short messages of whatever they deem is necessary, and now NBA players are employing the service to keep fans informed during halftime. There have been two cases of such activity over the past week in the NBA.  The first instance occurred during halftime of a Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics game.  Milwaukee's Charlie Villanueva, a relative unknown to non-sports fans, posted a tweet from his mobile phone during halftime saying that he had to step it up:

"In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up."

Even though they ended up winning and Villanueva was the leading scorer on the team, Milwaukee's coach Scott Skiles was not pleased that his young player decided to post a tweet instead of focusing on the game:

"You know, [we] don't want to blow it out of proportion. But anything that gives the impression that we're not serious and focused at all times is not the correct way we want to go about our business."

The other instance is from a more well-known NBA player, Shaquille O'Neal, who also attempted to sneak a tweet in during halftime, but wasn't nearly as successful.  He actually posted a tweet before the game stating his intentions to post another during halftime, but the media found out and ruined his plans.  O'Neal was only able to post a simple "Shhhhhh" tweet during halftime. Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry wasn't nearly as upset about his star players actions, saying that he can tweet whatever he wants as long as O'Neal produces on the floor. This isn't the first case of sports players using Twitter and it certainly won't be the last.  The NBA, nor any other professional sports leagues, have any rules against using such services during games, well at least not yet. What do you think?  Should professional athletes be allowed to post to any social networking site during halftime, or any other time during a game for that matter? [via Fox Sports]

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