Twitter | DeSean Jackson's Feud With Another NFL Player An Example Of Twitter's Reach

PHILADELPHIA - Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson paid a heavyprice for his flippant actions against New York Giants defensivecoordinator Perry Fewell and some Giants players last Sunday.

Not only was he fined $10,000 by the NFL for tossing a footballat Fewell and taunting the Giants' sideline with some gestures, healso incurred the wrath of some fellow players, notablyJacksonville place-kicker Josh Scobee.

Hence, another Twitter feud was born.

Scobee was so angry at Jackson's antics that he logged into hisTwitter account, @JoshScobee10, to express his outrage via astatement that included the ever-popular hash tag.

"Desean Jackson is a punk #growuputiny(expletive)," Scobeetweeted to his 11,494 followers.

"Relax people," he added. "He's just a punk, which to me meanshe doesn't respect anyone or anything around him. Therefore, Idon't respect him."

Two days later, while scrolling through @DeSeanJackson10,Jackson came upon Scobee's messages and fired off a response to his357,733 followers.

"This man @JoshScobee is Waaaaaaay outta Line!!," he tweetedlast Thursday, getting Scobee's handle wrong. "Stick to ya Ownbusiness.. Mind ya Own!! I don't respect what u sayin.. Lil Boistatus. ... Plus I don't even know who this guy is!!"

Feuds among players on other teams are not uncommon.

During the offseason, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy(@Cutondime25) suggested to his 74,000 followers that Giantsdefensive end Osi Umenyiora was "overrated" and "soft." Umenyioraretaliated by calling McCoy "Lady Gaga."

As recently as five or six years ago, the only tweets NFLplayers were concerned with came from referees' whistles. Hash tagswere known as number symbols. Larger versions were used for gamesof Tic Tac Toe and were filled with B-list celebrities on the oldTV game show "Hollywood Squares."

"I'll take Paul Lynde in the center square," contestants oftenwould shout.

That changed around 2006, when St. Louis native Jack Dorseylaunched Twitter along with co-founders Evan Williams and BizStone. The social media network became very popular with NFLplayers, many of whom could not wait to fill people in on theirlives in 140 characters or less.

The website Tweeting-athletes.com lists more than 1,200 currentand former NFL players on Twitter. At least 40 of the 53 players onthe Eagles' current active roster are registered. New England,which visits the Eagles today, has more than 35, including topTweeter Chad Ochocinco. The wide receiver is by far the mostpopular NFL player on Twitter. As of Saturday afternoon, he boasted2,959,485 followers.

Quarterback Michael Vick (@mikevick) tops the Eagles with901,325 followers. Jackson is second. Quarterback Vince Young, whowill start against the Pats today, is third with 116,531.

Players have different uses for Twitter.

Vick routinely chats about his alma mater, Virginia Tech, alongwith other college football and basketball games and teams.Defensive end Brandon Graham (@bgraham59) provided updates Saturdayon the University of Michigan's victory over Ohio State. Guard EvanMathis (@evanmathis69), an Alabama grad, showed a picture of hislocker covered with Auburn garb from tackle King Dunlap.

"King Dunlap put a bunch of orange blue Auburn toiletpaper in my locker," Mathis tweeted to his 6,000 followers Friday."He must still have a concussion."

Mathis, who signed as a free agent with the Eagles before thisseason, is the most prolific and wittiest of the Eagles on Twitter.As a self-described "Sit-down comedian," he weighed in on theJackson-Scobee spat by suggesting on his account that "MTV shouldbring back Celebrity Deathmatch. @DeseanJackson10 vs. @JoshScobee10and @TimTebow vs. @JohnElway for first new episode."

"I like to have fun with it and I don't take things tooseriously," Mathis said. "Some people have a tendency to vomit atthe mouth and get themselves in hot water. You have to really watchwhat you say. Twitter is a public forum. You can't act like you'rein your living room."

That doesn't prevent fans from venting to the players,however.

When Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper (@RileyCooper_14)returned to the locker room after last Sunday's 17-10 victory overthe New York Giants, he found dozens of congratulatory messagesfrom some of his 26,607 followers. Cooper caught five passes for 75yards and scored the game-winning touchdown against the Giants. Themessages weren't so encouraging after the first nine games, whenCooper did not have any receptions.

"When we weren't doing so well, the fans were pretty horriblewith some of the things they were tweeting to me," Cooper said."Sometimes I would respond, but mostly I just let it go. I gotreally mad, but I just chalked up as people who felt the need toflex their Twitter muscles."

A few hours after releasing his controversial tweets aboutJackson, Scobee sort of apologized.

"Shouldn't have called DeSean Jackson that," he wrote. "I usedthe wrong words to try to make my point."

Avoiding needless distractions is among the reasons why someEagles have chosen not to create Twitter accounts.

Safety Nate Allen, wide receiver Jason Avant and fullback OwenSchmitt don't feel the need to let everyone into their lives viasocial networks.

"I don't mess with Twitter or Facebook or any of that stuff,"Allen said. "From what I can tell, most of the time all that stuffdoes is get you in trouble."

Other players, such as veteran center Jamaal Jackson(@CenterStage67), have weened themselves off of Twitter during theseason. He still tweets occasionally but doesn't check his accountevery day for fear of seeing too many negative messages.

He restricts himself to conversing with family members orkidding around with teammates.

"I just talk to people I know," Jackson said. "You've got kidsfollowing you, so I try to exhibit some sort of professionalism andbe a role model. I don't get caught up in Twitter feuds. Why doesJosh Scobee care about what we're doing? That was just nonsense. Wedon't even play Jacksonville this year."

Contact David Weinberg:

DWeinberg@pressofac.com