Professional athletes can use social media to connect with fans and share their personal lives in ways they never could before. An athlete used to be a number, position, weight class or title. Now, athletes, about whom fans only knew what they read in the papers, have become so much more accessible.

Today even the laggards acknowledge that ignoring social media is no longer an option. Virtually every professional athlete has some kind of social presence. They share who their friends are, their pictures and otherwise offer a view into their personal life like never before. These social media channels offer athletes the opportunity to significantly strengthen their marketability but at the same time – if not handled with care – have the potential to seriously damage their private life, career, athletic performance and ‘personal brand’.

Lessons learned

As many athletes have found out the hard way, the impact of one ill-considered tweet on an athlete’s career can be life-changing. It’s like Spiderman said: “With great power comes great responsibility”. Lack of consideration or an aggressive rant in a split second of poor judgment can easily result in a (minor or, … more often) major incident. It seems ironic that the only way to come to grips with these ‘modern state of the art communication tools’ apparently is through the age-old concept of trail and error.

With @BL00dline3, @mcuban, @ACromartie, @ItsStephRice, @RyanBabel, @CV31, @ochocinco, @brianching, @StevieJohnson13, @Cfortson4 and @R_Mendenhall being just a few examples of athletes facing some high-profiled ‘twitter trouble’.

Others, such as Ray Edwards, Brett Favre , Greg Oden, Tony Parker, Tiger Woods, Shane Warne or, most recently, Oscar De La Hoya somehow – naively – assumed their voicemails, pictures or direct ‘sexting’ messages would remain private. The selection above represents only a tiny fraction of the athletes who got themselves in trouble by using a cell phone, PDA or other electronic communications device. All of us know mobiles can – and are – being hacked. It’s not that complicated to do. Whether their personal information got hacked, leaked, shared or sold these athletes will most certainly not be the last to be embarrassed and / or fined because of their (ab)use or underestimation of their mobile device or channel. If you’re in the public eye, its simply better to be safe than sorry.

Freedom of speech

All athletes are – and should obviously be – free to share their personal ideas and opinions. They should feel encouraged to connect with their fans and establish a strong social media profile. Fans want their athletes to be real and “uncensored.” Moreover athletes themselves seem to really LOVE twitter. As pointed out in this post on Appinions many athletes spew cliché after cliché when doing a radio, newspaper or television interviews, but once they log onto Twitter it’s an opinion free for all.

However, as @melinda_travis points out in her recent post on the Sports PR Blog, many athletes lack the necessary knowledge to turn their social engagement into a success. Others simply tend to forget who their audience is, make spelling errors, use profanity or discuss r-rated subjects. Others allow themselves to be baited or provoked by annoying or opposing fans. Some athletes release their frustrations or anger online without giving ample consideration to the consequences. Frequently athletes lack discretion or assume that their direct messages will remain private. Some athletes still underestimate the importance of their social media channels to their sponsors or believe that because they are engaging their followers in social media this allows them to sidestep traditional media all together. Why would you want to repeat the (expensive) mistakes somebody has already made before you?

What’s wrong with common sense?

Many of these considerations apply to you and me, as much as they do to professional athletes. All of us should know what is right or wrong to say. Posting content that will get you in trouble with your boss, colleagues or friends is – generally – not a good way to go. This great post by @darrenrovell points out ‘The 100 Twitter Rules To Live By’ .  Darren’s post is a great place to start. From there @TomSatkowiak compiled his insightful and really helpful ‘50 Twitter Tips for NCAA Division I Student-Athletes’. Well worth a read for athletes at any level!

Many people consider athletes brands. As such athletes are not only representing themselves, but also their school, team, club, league or sponsor(s). While some of their income is generated by their athletic skills, a lot of their money comes from being a public figure.

Only a few people fake an interest in my tweets but an athlete’s words go far beyond the scope of their followers, colleagues, friends and family. It’s exactly this public impact that catapults the consequences of an unconsidered tweet into a scandal, potentially damaging the athletes, their organization and their sponsors.

No athlete starts his social media account with the intention of doing anything that could possibly affect his, or another athlete’s, performance, like creating the wrong sort of headlines for himself, their team or league. Nevertheless the social media guidelines of the NBA, NFL, MLB,  IOC and the English Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), focus stipulating everything that is NOT allowed. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has taken a completely different approach. This league is actively counseling and coaching  their fighters on the use of social media channels and encourage  them to tweet as much as possible. UFC president @danawhite (1.5 million twitter followers) announced that fighters will receive bonuses for adding followers and writing the most creative tweets.

Follow the leaders

Other athletes are leading by example. Here’s another recent Sportsnetworker-post by Thomas Stone on the 5 most followed athletes on twitter; @tonyhawk with 2,614,278 followers, @lancearmstrong (3,041,032 followers), @Cristiano (4,021,123 followers), @shaq (4,274,104 followers) and @KAKA (no less than 5,711,014 followers)! These athletes have many people looking at their posts, add enormous value for their fans, their organization, and their sponsors, and still manage to keep it professional.

More articles on this topic:

Here’s a great post by Kaila Strong (@cliquekaila) on social media rules for athletes. This is a post by @debbierosenbaum: the IOC issues guidelines for use of social media during the London 2012 Games. Here’s a recent Socialnomics article by Dave Thomas on “Athletes dropping the ball when using social media” and here’s Fieldoo post by @JureDoler on “Athletes and social networks”.

About Thomas van Schaik

Thomas studied Communications in Amsterdam and has been working in international sports for over 15 years. He started his professional career at the Amsterdam Admirals in the NFL Europe and moved to Dutch professional soccer champions PSV Eindhoven in 1997. In 2001 he moved to Southern Germany to join Adidas. He's filled a variety of roles with the sporting goods brand, including 'Head of Global PR'. In 2011 he moved into the role of Global Brand Director.

Twitter | LinkedIn | More Posts (14)

This is a guest post from Thomas Stone.Recently SportsNetworker counted down the Top Five Most Followed Athletes on Twitter.

Sure, they have a lot of followers, but influence is a totally different story.

Athletes can influence their followers, no matter the number, based on the way they present themselves. Their followers will either listen to or disregard them based on the image they promote, information they share or level of engagement with followers.

The findings may surprise you.

#1: Ryan Sheckler

Whatever it is the 21-year-old skateboarding superstar is tweeting about–it’s working.

He was named the most influential athlete on Twitter, according to ad.ly.com, a website that runs celebrity endorsements in social media.

Some may blame his #1 spot on the fact that he’s a cool, young guy that does a ‘cool’ sport and had an MTV reality show. But, upon closer inspection, his Twitter account is surprisingly and subtly wise.

His tweets are a great blend of informative and fun, presenting him as dedicated to his sport, but also willing to let fans read about his day-to-day life. His re-tweets are relevant, usually referring to news in the skateboarding world, his competitions and the viewing schedule for televised skateboarding events.

He even spent what appears to be may be hours re-tweeting fans from around the world while he was grounded by Hurricane Irene in New Jersey.

His account combines professionalism with the personal touch that lets you know Sheckler’s actually writing these tweets himself. His fans buy into the brand he’s promoting, pushing him to the number one spot.

#2: Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce’s Twitter account is refreshingly diverse. He uses his account to endorse and promote his nonprofit, Truth on Health, to inspire kids to lead more active lifestyles. He re-tweets quite a bit from the Twitter account for Truth on Health, and links to articles he’s written for Sports Illustrated for Kids.

He mixes up the pace of things by adding pictures and tweets from his personal life, including him ‘chilling’ on the Great Wall of China during a recent trip with teammates.

His Twitter brand is much like Sheckler’s: laid back but professional. It’s possible that Sheckler gained an edge, however, due to his considerably younger fan demographic.

#3: Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom’s Twitter account is a bit less productive than that of other athletes, especially the two ranking before him. The possible reason for his success?

He’s married to Khloe Kardashian. And the types of people that enjoy the reality show Keeping up With the Kardashians are most likely Twitter fanatics.

That being said, Odom does use his account to promote giveaways and encourage fans to vote for himself and Khloe to win TV cheap wedding invitations.

Twitter allows users to share information to a specific audience with an unparalleled amount of timeliness and efficiency. It’s easier to access than Facebook and much less cluttered.

It’s perfect for establishing an online presence, personality and brand in 140 characters or less–especially if you’re already famous.

About Lewis Howes

Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | More Posts (187)

In November 2009, I introduced a series of articles I called ‘Social Media Report Card,’ where I graded each of the four major sports leagues – NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB – on their social media presence. I made a point of being harsh. In particular, I criticized each of the leagues for only utilizing the major platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube) and not adopting some of the emerging platforms (Tumblr, Dailybooth, and Ustream), as well as for not interacting enough with the fans. The series received a lot of positive feedback, so I’ve decided to continue with my ‘Social Media Report Cards,’ this time focusing on individual athletes.

I chose to start with Steve Nash for a few reasons. First, Nash is one of my favorite athletes from any sport right now, which is saying a lot since I am typically a hometown fan (Phillies, Eagles, Sixers). Second, he has always been incredibly entertaining to watch on the court, and has also done some really cool and fun stuff off the court. Third, I think he is one of the most underrated social media users in the sports world. So without further ado, here we go!

Visibility (B+)

Steve Nash might have joined Twitter because of his former teammate, and social media rock star Shaquille O’Neal (@The_Real_Shaq & @The_Real_Nash), but he has fully embraced it and created a really great presence. He has more than 110,000 followers. Nash is also on Facebook, with over 575,000 fans. And to complete the trifecta, he has a YouTube account where he has racked up more than 630,000 total upload views. Before all of these, Nash was challenging fans to competitions (e.g. most free throws in a minute, staring contest) on Baron Davis’ social network, I Beat You. While I haven’t seen him go live on Ustream or snap photos on DailyBooth, Nash has embraced social media across a variety of platforms.

Content (A+)

Content is where Steve Nash shines. He is very creative and has a great sense of humor. Have you seen the video where he asks fans to vote for him in the 2010 All Star game? Or the ‘Step Brothers’ parody trailer he shot with Baron Davis? There was also the video he shot, and presumably organized, of his Phoenix Suns teammates singing Lionel Richie’s ‘All Night Long.’

If you head to SteveNash.org, his organization’s website, you’ll see that Nash also knows how to organize a great promotion. He is giving away a pair of signed, game-worn shoes to someone who donates to the foundation on six different dates. Pretty cool.

Fan Interaction (B)

Nash picks and chooses who he interacts with. On Facebook, he never gets into the comments from the fans, however in some status updates, he does specifically mention how much he appreciates their interaction. On Twitter, Nash occasionally retweets a fan and adds commentary of his own, but he engages more with high profile users than average fans. The thing that saves him is that a lot of his videos are really calls to action to the fans. He engages and interacts through his videos, by asking them to beat him in a competition, or vote for him in the All Star game. The fact that he films most of his videos with a Flip cam and speaks directly to the audience makes him more personal than most.

Consistency (B+)

Professional athletes have demanding schedules, especially during the season, and I don’t expect them to be spending all of their free time on social media. By posting every couple of days (on average) on Facebook, and nearly every day on Twitter, Nash is doing a solid job. During the off season, I would hope to see him get a little more involved.

Overall (A-)

The most important part of using social media, for a brand, is authenticity. The fact that Steve Nash creates very personal content and seems to be behind all of his social media endeavors means a lot. My biggest critique is the lack of interaction with his fans through Twitter and Facebook. I may be a little biased because of my Nash fanboy status, but I really do think that he is underrated, especially from a content standpoint. I’m just looking forward to what he does next.

What do you think of Steve Nash’s social media presence? Were you paying attention to him before you read this article? Who would you like me to highlight in future editions of ‘Social Media Report Card’?

###

Images by Keith Allison

About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

Web | Twitter | LinkedIn | More Posts (49)

(This is a guest article by Ash Read)

The social media phenomenon is still taking off here in the UK, especially amongst our sports teams and athletes, who are severely behind their US counterparts. We’ve yet to see a sporting superstar utilize social media to the same level as Shaq, Dwight Howard and others have across the pond. Many of our bigger clubs have yet to recognize the power of social media. They broadcast news, results and details of any promotional offers, but in many cases there is very little interaction and engagement with the fans, which is a key aspect of social media, isn’t it?

In an age where the Premier League has a huge presence on the web and a huge global fanbase, it’s surprising there aren’t more Premier League players using Twitter. There is potential for these players to use social media in building their personal brands and following.

The Premier League’s best known Twitterer is Sunderland striker, Darren Bent who, as I write this, has around 28,000 followers (not quite at Shaq’s 2.5 million mark yet). Bent regularly posts an honest, open and interesting account of his life both on and off the pitch. He has used his Twitter account to embrace his new life in the north east. He has connected with the locals making him somewhat of a cult hero amongst Sunderland supporters, of course the goals and his performances on the pitch have helped too.

His famous use of Twitter has also seen his boot manufacturers, Umbro, make him a specially designed pair of boots with the Twitter logo and his username (@DBTheTruth) sewn into them. These boots have made national newspapers and also appeared on national TV. Highlighting the power social media can have and of course the benefits and exposure for any sponsors.

Bent possesses an impressive goal scoring record in the Premier League, and has been one of the top English scorers over the past four seasons, despite this he’s never really been in the media spotlight. Since his Twitter use his popularity and coverage in the media has significantly increased. It’s safe to say that Darren Bent’s personal brand and status has grown hugely through his use of Twitter, so why aren’t more Premier League stars utilizing it, and social media in general? Here are a couple of possible reasons:

Bad Press: One outburst famously got Darren Bent into trouble earlier this year. He posted comments over a potential move from Tottenham to Sunderland and it made national news, causing him to close down his Twitter account.

Lack of understanding: Social media is still a relatively new phenomenon and even the experts are continually finding ways to improve results and use social media to its fullest potential. Many don’t understand and see how social media ROI can be measured, therefore seeing any considerable time spent on social media as wasted time.

So what’s the solution? In one word, education. The majority of young footballers are given media training by their clubs (how to handle interviews, speaking to the press etc.) Maybe it’s time the clubs started to educate all players on the power of social media.

Maybe our clubs themselves need educating, some clubs seem worried about letting players loose with tools such as Twitter due to problems the past. However, with a set of guidelines clubs would have control of what information the players broadcast. If Hull City had some guidelines in place could the whole Jozy Altidore situation have been avoided?

Our clubs and athletes need to embrace social media. You only have to read “3 Reasons Athletes Should Use Social Media” to realize that athletes should be utilizing social media. Not only can it benefit their following on the field but also off the field and in retirement.

Is it the clubs that should be responsible for social media training or should it be the players agents/management or the players themselves?

###

Ashley Read is a Managing Director at Sport Driven, a dedicated sport marketing platform enabling businesses to source new and exciting commercial opportunities in the UK. Learn more and connect with him here or follow Ash on Twitter.

About Lewis Howes

Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | More Posts (187)

Update: Today, Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely and without pay from the National Basketball Association. Keep in mind that this article was published before the suspension was announced.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about Gilbert Arenas, calling him the true pioneer of social media. Far before Shaq had 2.7 million followers (the population of Jamaica), Arenas was blogging for the NBA. Sure, social media wasn’t quite as “social” back then. Gilbert wasn’t directly interacting with fans, but he was providing us with an inside look into his life on and off the court. Arenas wrote his last post towards the end of 2008, after he’d sustained a couple of injuries. By then, he’d already established himself as the first professional athlete to really succeed with social media.

For more than a year, Arenas stayed away from social media. Shaq exploded onto the scene with his ‘Random Acts of Shaqness’ and ‘Yo Mama’ jokes. He’s been the unquestionable sweetheart of the sports and social media world. Then, in early December, Arenas created a Twitter account, and sent out the message that he wouldn’t tweet again until he got one million followers. I was thrilled to see Gilbert back in the space, and I thought that he’d get his million in no time.

However, two weeks later, he had only gained several thousand followers, and on December 24th, he tweeted twice. Then, on the 31st, he said, “i know i said i wouldnt text til i get a mil..but shit this is takin 4ever…Happy New Years…ps who do i hav 2 sleep with 2 get a mil.” Uhhh, text? It’s official: Gilbert has no idea what he’s doing.

In the last week, Arenas has tweeted over 180 times. He’s admitted he’s clueless as far as Twitter is concerned, but he continues to tweet. So what triggered this Twitter tornado? Well, on Christmas eve, the same day that Gilbert sent his second tweet ever, reports came out that Arenas’ alleged possession of a firearm may have resulted in a violation of league rules. A few days later, it was reported that Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton were involved in a standoff in the Wizards locker room. Apparently, after a gambling dispute on the team plane, Arenas brought in three guns and laid them in front of Crittenton’s locker. Arenas has since apologized, saying it was a practical joke gone bad, but he may be in some serious trouble. Washington D.C. has very strict gun laws, and authorities are contemplating taking Arenas before a grand jury.

At this point, it’s unclear if, how, and when Arenas will be punished. However, one thing is for sure: Arenas has been in a bit of a free fall since his blogging days. He’s had injury problems, he’s been out of the spotlight, and it has been difficult for him to get back into it (at least in a positive light). He clearly needs help with his brand (call me!) and regaining his social media prowess (right now it looks like he’s using Twitter to vent), and probably will need some legal assistance in the coming weeks. It will be interesting to see how things play out with Gilbert. Despite his recent troubles, I am rooting for him.

###

Images by Keith Allison

About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

Web | Twitter | LinkedIn | More Posts (49)

(This is a guest article by  Milee Karre)

Twitter has become one of the biggest outlets for athletes to express their minds about daily experiences, controlling the media, and to interact with fans.  As countless have documented many top athletes aren’t just on twitter, but are somewhat consumed by it. That is all fine and dandy, but what if we could take twitter and take it back in time and see what those athletes would have said during their prime.

Wouldn’t you like to hear from Dennis Rodman during his playing days with tweets like, “I’d like to apologize to the NBA for my actions, the ball slipped down to my foot and somehow went 30 rows up” or, “I just can’t figure out what dress to pick out. If I send a Twit Pic can my followers help?”

What about his teammate the greatest player ever to touch a basketball, we as fans could have been inspired by Michael Jordan not only with his play, but with his tweets.  “Even though I missed one tonight I’ll promise you I will make the next one!”, or “There is only mental weakness never physical”.

How about our good friend Mike Tyson, likely the most controversial athlete of all time.  What on earth would he say? (With lisp) “I am the greatest ever to grace this pretty little ring”. Everything else I tried to come up with is nothing nearly appropriate for this forum.  It involved kids, eating, and fornicating. Yeah, try and put that together.

Lets move on to one of my favorite athletes to ever play basketball, and the trendsetter to fashion and style in the NBA; Pete Maravich. It is possible that he would never had time to send out frequent tweets considering his obsessive practice habits, but we like to speculate anyway. “Just scored 55 tonight. Think I’m going to stay and get more shots up Dad is giving me the look”. Or maybe when his life all changed, “Thank you for the feedback on my contract, I’m not feeling the love elsewhere though.”

The age of blogging has taken over rumor central. Almost to point where anything is believable. Who could of you used Twitter or needed it more then Roger Clemens to possibly prove his innocence. “Just got done working out check the Twit Pic, see nothing looks unfamiliar!”

We will never know what these athletes would have said during the prime of their careers on Twitter, but we do know that it most likely would have given us fans more insight into these controversial athletes lives. The height of their powers could have been strengthened with this powerful social networking tool and maybe saved some image problems.  Yes, we will never know what they would have said but it is always fun to imagine.

About Lewis Howes

Web | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | More Posts (187)

On September 21st, @NYJET_Prime tweeted to Dustin Keller, “Hey, I just sprung for a white Keller Titans Jersey, I’m starting to sniff favorite Jet ever, lol. Pls sign 15 year contract!”

Two days later, Keller replied, “Hey @NYJET_Prime Thanks. Appreciate the support. Check out this video I made for you http://bit.ly/3PWTyz.”

The ensuing reaction from the fan was unreal. After seeing the video, his next six tweets were all Keller-related, including messages to Keller directly, to the Jets account, and to another fan.

“@DustinKeller81 Holy Sh-t!!! I know I’m an adult and all but that’s freaking awesome. I feel like a kid with a permagrin now, THANKS!!!”

“@DUSTINKELLER81 Just wanted to say thanks again- I really appreciate it. Not only are you a great Player but person as well. THANKS AGAIN!!!”

“@nyjets Dustin Keller did something real nice for me, I wish I had a better way to say thanks. Tweeting TY just isn’t doing it. He’s the best.”

“@trevsw that was amazing! What a great guy!! I’m still in shock and have permagrin. Go Jets!!!”

“@DUSTINKELLER81 I just told my dad. You made my year! I told him I was giddy like a 12 year old girl. Corny I know, but ur the best.”

“@DUSTINKELLER81 Thanks Again- I’m not semi Jet famous. I had like 3 spam followers now it’s up to 41. You da man!! Good Luck this weekend!!”

You may look at these tweets and say that his reaction was over the top. But think about it: You tweet one of your favorite players and not only does he respond, but he responds with a personalized video thanking you for your comments and for being a fan. Of course you would go nuts!

What’s important to remember is that it was the video that elicited this reaction. Plenty of people get @replies from athletes on Twitter, but very few get personalized video responses. And the craziest thing is that all Keller needed was 20 seconds of his time (trust me, I was there). In return for those 20 seconds, he got 600+ people to watch the video on Youtube, a lot of respect from his fans, and one fan who will absolutely worship him for the rest of his career.

So, athletes, if you’re not sure about using social media or you aren’t seeing the results you desire, remember this: You have to care. When you’re laying in bed after waking up or before going to sleep, take twenty minutes and respond to those hundreds, or thousands, of people who are talking to you on Twitter or Facebook. It doesn’t take much, all they want is a response.

Look at Kerry Rhodes. He’s built 20,000 organic followers with messages like, “thx” and “no problem.” He takes the time to respond to as many fans as possible. Then he gets on uStream to answer fans in a more personal manner. Why? Because he cares! And that is why he has fans who care about him.

About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

Web | Twitter | LinkedIn | More Posts (49)

For professional athletes, Twitter can be an incredibly valuable tool. It is a way to connect with current fans and to earn new ones. It is also an alternative to traditional media, providing direct access the public. Twitter is a tool for crisis management, where athletes can accept criticism and attempt to change opinions. Most importantly, Twitter serves as a channel where athletes can show off their personality, the side the public does not normally get to see. There are many, many athletes on Twitter, from average players to superstars. But I can think of a few in particular who are not on and should be.

#1. Michael Vick

Three years ago, Michael Vick was a superstar athlete, one of the most recognizable players in the NFL, and a very, very rich man. Two and a half years ago, he was implicated in organizing and funding a massive, illegal dog-fighting ring. And two years ago, Vick was bankrupt and in prison, serving a 23-month sentence for his crime. Now, he is back in the NFL and has a spot on the Philadelphia Eagles roster. He has apologized profusely, claiming he is a changed man and ready to turn his life around. He is the perfect candidate for social media and for Twitter. In his ongoing effort to rebrand himself, Twitter would give him the ability to turn critics into fans through personal engagement and honesty. He could also post Twitpics and videos showing evidence of the community outreach he has been doing and will continue to do. Twitter could be an important part of his rebranding process.

#2. Barry Bonds (and other steroids users)

I have already whined about the lack of MLB players on social media and on Twitter. But the one group of players that absolutely needs to be on Twitter are those who have been accused or found to have taken steroids. Barry Bonds has been the poster child for the Steroids Era, and took a huge hit to his image once allegations of his steroids use surfaced. Part of this fallout was due to the fact that he allegedly took steroids, but perhaps an even larger part of it was Bonds’ personality and the way he handled the situation. Twitter would give Bonds, and all other alleged steroids users, the chance to explain themselves and clear the negative air surrounding them as much as possible.

#3. Brett Favre

A couple years ago, when Brett Favre retired (the first time), most people accepted him as one of the greatest quarterbacks the NFL had ever seen and a first ballot Hall of Famer. He held almost every significant quarterback record, including the record for most career passing touchdowns. Favre was generally well liked by fans, and beloved in Green Bay. He was the Levis jeans guy. Then came his ridiculous offseasons of toying with the media and with the fans, unretiring and retiring seemingly every few weeks. Unsurprisingly, many fans lost respect for Favre. Had he been on Twitter, he could have gone around the media to communicate directly with the fans. I don’t think that it is too late to repair his image. He still has time to get on Twitter and change opinions.
(Check out these awesome, but fake accounts: @BrettFavre and @Fake_BrettFavre).

#4. Lebron James

Quite simply, he is the King. He is one of the two or three most exciting and talented players of this generation, and might be an all-time great when his career comes to an end. Not only is he incredible to watch on the court, but he has shown a lot of personality off the court as well. People are captivated by Lebron James, and with Twitter, he has a chance to take his popularity to a different level. Shaq is a superstar athlete with an amazing personality who has completely dominated Twitter. With the NBA’s strong presence, Lebron’s abilities and character, and Shaq as a teammate for guidance, there is no reason he cannot do the same. Ironically, it has not been a great off season for Lebron. Between walking off the court without shaking his opponents’ hands after losing to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals and confiscating the dunk video, he has definitely hurt his brand. Then again, it’s nothing a couple months on Twitter and a few thousand @replies to disgruntled fans and non-fans couldn’t fix.

Honorable Mentions

Michael Jordan – For basketball fans around the world.
Michael Phelps – For all the screaming 14-year-old girls on Twitter.
Mike Tyson & John Madden – For pure hilarity.

I know I missed a few. So tell me, which athlete not on Twitter most needs to be?

About Sam Taggart

Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.

Web | Twitter | LinkedIn | More Posts (49)