Arian Foster and Chris Johnson Proof NFL Players and Twitter Don't Mix

In less than 24 hours we had irrefutable proof from three sources that NFL players and Twitter just don't mix.

First it was Arian Foster tweeting a picture of the MRI on his hamstring, then Chris Johnson ripped "fake fans" for not supporting him during his holdout and finally Darnell Dockett went all "Darnell Dockett" and told his followers how he almost accidentally brought his gun to practice. Yes, that last one actually happened.

Dockett's tweet is obviously the most egregious simply because the NFL doesn't need the public image of its players to be that of gun-wielding maniacs. Here is exactly what Dockett had to say:

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Damn I almost brung my "ROCKET" into work this morning like gilbert arenas. But mine was by accident it was in my book bag.

"

He continued:

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Kept sayin to myself why is my book bag so heavy, looked in side it was BIG pookey"nickel plated Glock 40" trying to come to work w/me! Smh

"

Dockett then explained the nuances of Arizona's gun laws to his followers:

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The gun laws in Az are super cool! I can damn near have a rGrenade launcher on the seat as long as its registerd I'm good. Lol nice

"

When you get past the fact that his tweets are funny for reasons he doesn't seem to understand, and forget that he named his gun "pookey" and refers to it like a pet that is "trying to come to work" with him, you realize that this is a serious matter.

An NFL locker room is not the place for a firearm. The fact that Dockett "accidentally" almost brought his gun to work is a problem. I realize Arizona's gun laws may allow for such things, but that doesn't excuse the fact that a player representing an NFL franchise is joking about almost bringing a deadly weapon onto team premises.

I realize it might be difficult given his track record, but Dockett simply needs to think before he tweets.

Same goes for Arian Foster. When the injured running back tweeted a picture of his MRI yesterday, he probably thought it was just a funny way to connect with fans. Instead, as Tedy Bruschi later pointed out, he was giving opposing defensive players a target for when he does get back on the field. The opposition now knows exactly where to aim when taking shots at Foster to try and aggravate his current injury. That not only puts Foster in danger, it endangers his team's season. If the Houston Texans loose their leading rusher for an extended period of time it could cost them a shot at the playoffs.

Besides that, he may or may not have accidentally given his social security number out to the entire Internet. Whoops.

Then there's Chris Johnson. He's obviously upset with his current contract situation, but yesterday he apparently left his filter turned off and blasted the people begging him to end his holdout and get back on the field. Johnson will almost certainly regret tweeting those remarks but once they are out in public, they are there for good.

While I don't think the NFL should outlaw the use of Twitter, I do believe that players need to be much smarter about how they use it. It can be a great way to connect with fans, but when you don't think before you hit that "tweet" button, there can be serious consequences.