A trying year for San Francisco 49ers running back Brandon Jacobs became even more awkward Monday afternoon when head coach Jim Harbaugh suspended him for the final three games of the regular season and presumably for the postseason, should the team qualify. In a problem that is becoming much more common, Jacobs’ major undoing was his posts on social media accounts where he shared his displeasure about how the 49ers have used him this season.
It began in mid-November when he tweeted about hating his boss, but later insisted that it had to do with his other businesses, and not his primary job of playing football for the 49ers. While critics were skeptical of his explanation, the comments were downplayed and Jacobs went ahead and made his debut with the team a week later against the New Orleans Saints.
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In that same game, the 49ers backup running back Kendal Hunter suffered a torn ACL injury and was out for the season. For Jacobs, Hunter’s injury created the opportunity he needed to get on the field and prove he was a capable contributor. In the days leading up to the 49ers home game against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday, this was all put in jeopardy when he again tweeted – this time that he was “on this team (49ers) rotting away.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. Jacobs then posted pictures of his Super Bowl rings on instagram, earned during his years with New York Giants in the first seven years of his career. It didn’t help that the Giants were the team that knocked the 49ers out of the playoffs last season, one step away from the Super Bowl. The entire post read :
“I am on this team rotting away so why would I wanna put any pics up of anything that say niners,” Jacobs wrote in an Instagram post Saturday. “This is by far the worst year I ever had.”
While this is not the first time an athlete has spoken out publicly, there are consequences for his actions, as Jacobs is learning. He will sit out the rest of the season at a cost of $167,000 in lost pay. The 49ers’ decision to suspend, rather than cut him, will prevent Jacobs from signing with another Super Bowl contender in the hope of salvaging his season with another Super Bowl run.
When athletes post their opinions on social media sites, they often overlook how fast that information can spread to fans, media sources, coaches and teammates. Jacobs really backed his organization in a corner and forced it to act decisively or risk appearing to tolerate such derogatory and morale-lowering comments.
Jacobs’ social media “outreach” will also likely be on the minds of general managers around the league when teams consider signing him for the 2013 season. The bottom line is that situations like this are easily preventable with some personal restraint and public figures can quickly damage their reputations, limit their career opportunities and, even worse, lose their jobs if they aren’t careful about the content of their posts.
With Jacobs very likely to file an appeal through the NFLPA, it would also be beneficial to have language written into contracts about what social media activity is acceptable to avoid future unfortunate situations like this one.
(Photo courtesy of Kelley L. Cox — US Presswire)
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