Ridiculous NFL Rules: No Use of Social Media 90 Minutes Before Game

The most recent use of social media 90 minutes before a game fell on who else but Terrell Owens.

T.O.'s latest fine came because he tweeted 60 minutes before kickoff that he would be giving an autographed ball to a child wearing his jersey in the stands at the game.

This seems like another self-promotion by the player that loves him some him, but actually it wasn't.

T.O. later said via Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, that the reason for the tweet was because a fan who had donated the most money (in order to win the signed ball) to T.O.'s charity benefiting mothers imprisoned in Kenya had asked T.O. to give the ball to a child at the game instead.

T.O. admitted the tweet came out late because he forgot his phone at home and sent his assistant to go retrieve it.

Now, rules are rules and T.O. has accepted his fine from the league, but in all honesty should this be a fineable offense?  Or at the very least shouldn't this be something for teams to dish out punishment for, not the league?

Let's face it, what is the difference between a player tweeting (or updating facebook) right before a game saying, "Game time!  We're about to destroy...this team," and than saying the actual words to fans in the stands or media at the game?

There isn't really.

So why does the league care if they tweet leading up to the game?

I can understand a ban on tweeting during the game, after all the players should be focused on the game they're in and not sending out messages to their followers, but before the game it's no different than doing anything really.

What's next?  Is the league going to ban players from playing games on their cell phones 90 minutes before game time? 

It's basically the same thing when you think about it—men playing around on their phones.

It's a stupid rule in a league that seems like it has nothing better to do than make up more and more rules for the game.

Soon there will be no talking or tackling in football.

Lighten up No Fun League.  Let the players communicate with their fans until the coin toss.  It will engage the fans more and probably (somehow) generate more money for the league.

That's what I call a win-win.

For more pointless opinions by yours truly, follow me on Twitter (@jomac006).