With most celebrities and businesses now entangled in the web of tweets, it’s difficult to shake this addictive habit. For some, Twitter can be a useful and productive networking tool but for others the ability to broadcast inappropriate personal thoughts is quite tempting. In recent months, athletes and others involved in the sports industry have been testing the limits of twittering.

This has come with not so good outcomes and significant costs. Of course we are entitled to free speech, but should Twitter be used as a tool for voicing personal thoughts that may provoke unwanted consequences?

Most recently Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic was fined for comments that criticized the officials. The NBA slapped a $15,000 penalty on Howard for comments such as calling the number of fouls “crazy” and “they called me for a charge on a flop, a push off when the defender was on me and two fouls on blocked shots”. While disrespectful, Howard has a right to express himself about an incident that directly affects his life. Nonetheless, the NBA, similar to many other sports leagues, have implemented strict rules as to when and under what circumstances a player can Tweet. Others mistakenly thought they were free of Twitter restrictions and embarrassingly, Dallas Mavericks team owner, Mark Cuban was fined $25,000 for criticism of his team’s performance.

Still, others are ignoring rules and continue to incur hefty fines for an activity that is a modern day expression of free speech. After tweeting offensive comments and gay slurs, Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs was terminated from the team. What did this star football player that was so terrible? "My father got more credentials than most of these pro coaches.....Google my father!!!!!!!", "My father played for the coach from 'remember the titans'. Our coach played golf.", “My father played for the redskins briefly. Our coach. Nuthn”. Of course, these comments were followed by a gay slur, but the Constitution protects most speech, doesn’t it?

When viewed in terms of hate speech, one can understand why Johnson’s comments brought such drastic action. However, had he refrained from including insulting remarks about sexual orientation, the result would have been different. While most tweets by athletes tend to express frustration about a game, they are entitled to do so as long as it does not constitute hate speech which unjustly targets a particular group.

Should Twitter be censored and controlled or is this a form of unlawful freedom of speech limitation?