There have been far too many incidents of athletes failing at various social media outlets, so much so, in fact, it’s almost impossible to keep up with. Names like Santonio Holmes, Stephon Marbury, Carmelo Anthony and Kat Stacks (Miss Stacks has a history of winning since she’s come onto the social media scene) litter the Internet news environment as tales of their social media woes keep us entertained.
The latest social media victim from the wide world of sports? Tennessee Titans wide receiver, Kenny Britt. Apparently, the NFL lockout has been so boring for Britt, he’s decided to see just how much trouble he can get into from simply operating a motor vehicle. As an example of his sterling driving record, Britt has already been arrested twice since April, 2011 for two separate incidents involving a car owned by the receiver.
In fact, the first linked article has Britt’s laundry list of incidents since joining the professional football ranks, and let’s just say if Britt wasn’t a professional athlete with a decent bank account, it’s doubtful he’d be walking the street as a free man:
Britt has been involved in several off-field incidents since the Titans selected the Rutgers star in the first round of the 2009 draft:
Earlier this offseason in New Jersey, theft-by-deception charges against Britt were downgraded to a misdemeanor level. Two bailbonds companies had accused Britt of not following through on a pledge in court to pay bail for a friend who was arrested in January 2010. Last October, Britt was involved in a bar room fight at a Nashville club, but he was not charged. Last August in Nashville, he received a misdemeanor citation for driving on a revoked license. Last offseason in New Jersey, police suspended Britt’s license after an arrest for outstanding traffic warrants. He paid $865 and was released.
Needless to say, it’s doubtful such a productive rap sheet has gone unnoticed by NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, who is known to come down incredibly hard on players who jeopardize the image of the league. Although Goodell has yet to respond to Britt’s latest misadventures — which would undoubtedly be with some kind of suspension — apparently, Britt decided a preemptive strike against the NFL commissioner was the best way to approach the situation, which leads us directly to the social media failure.
Over at Kenny Britt’s Facebook page, a post appeared, and it wasn’t too kind to Goodell or the Britt’s NFL career. As reported by Pro Football Talk and Brendan Prunty’s — he of the Newark Star-Ledger — Twitter account, Britt apparently posted the following on his Facebook wall:
@BrendanPrunty
Brendan PruntyUh, so on his Facebook wall Kenny Britt just posted: “Retiring from the NFL. F*** You Goddell.” So there is that.
17 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto
Indeed. I mean, that’s the smart way to conduct your business, right?
Of course, once the news of Britt’s Facebook post hit the wires, Britt responded with the to-be-expected “my account was hacked” defense, but not before a follow-up was also posted at his Facebook page. The second post tried to apologize for the “F-You, Goodell” stuff by saying Britt would take his punishment like a man and whatnot. The “my account was hacked” post was entered after the follow-up, and it said both of the previous posts were made while his account was under someone else’s control.
As of now, there is only one post from Britt on his page, and it’s from January, 19th, meaning all of the previous fun was deleted. Unfortunately, the Google cache snapshot was taken during March, so no luck there either. Although the posts may have been removed, that doesn’t mean there isn’t other areas of fun happening on Britt’s Facebook page, because there is. This time, however, it is in the form of comments from fans. Let’s just say not everyone approves of Britt’s activities.
Instead of individual quotes, the following screenshot captures the mood perfectly (click for a bigger image with more comments):
All things considered, if I were an owner of a professional sports team, the idea to ban all social media would be so very tempting. If I can write million dollar checks for grown men playing a game, then I can issue “no social media” edicts, as well. These incidents also demonstrate just how immature a great many of “professionals” really are. Britt should consider himself lucky for winning the genetic lottery. Too bad his actions speak to a sense of entitlement that’s about a mile wide.