The 50 Biggest Social Media Fails in Sports History

The Internet doesn't forget.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Back in 2011, during the annual NFL Rookie Symposium, former NFL coach/current ESPN analyst Herm Edwards got up in front of a room full of NFL rookies and offered some invaluable advice to them about social media. That advice included three magical words: Don't…press…send. His reasoning was that, too often, athletes don't think before they send out a message on social media—and it often comes back to bite them when that message gets picked up and used by major media outlets like ESPN.

Unfortunately, it appears as though Coach Edwards' message fell on deaf ears. Because although he delivered his message loud and clear for all of those NFL rookies—and although ESPN has replayed his speech countless times since 2011—athletes continue to get themselves into trouble on social media. They send out inappropriate tweets that were supposed to be direct messages. They post offensive photos that warrant apologies. And day in and day out, they make fools of themselves by doing stupid things on social media that make headlines. So from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram and even Vine, these are the 50 Biggest Social Media Fails in Sports History.

RELATED: Top 50 Auto-Correct Mistakes

Wonder what Brian Cashman thought.

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"I'm going to be short on my rent this month..."

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Easy, tiger.

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Give him a red card.

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Tweeting about getting fined for Twitter use.

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Safety first!

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When will people learn? A direct message is not a tweet!

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Wanna bet?

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And on the anniversary no less.

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Get your facts straight.

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Pelicans for the win!

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This was a very poor choice of words.

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Think before you tweet.

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I get money, money I got.

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Definitely too soon.

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There are no excuses for this.

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Fails on fails on fails.

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This is no laughing matter.

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Be careful of the company you keep.

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"Hold on, coach, just one quick tweet..."

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Nope, but you're a fool for asking that question.

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Fifty cents won't make her dance.

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Because who wants to be associated with homosexuals, right?

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When is this guy going to learn?

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This is why international players shouldn't tweet in English.

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Whatcha gonna do when The Hulkster retweets inappropriate tweets to you?

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May want to keep that win to yourself.

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Money ain't a thing. Or is it?

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Apples and oranges, Jose.

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My dog ate my homework, I mean my account got hacked.

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First we tweet, then we delete.

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As "Shady" as it gets.

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Don't call it a comeback.

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Rape is no joke, Miguel.

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No one likes a sore loser.

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Not the smartest play in the book.

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Don't obey your thirst.

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Kickin' a man when he's down.

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Stop sleeping on the job.

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It's going to be a long year for you.

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This is how you know it's time to fire your weed carrier.

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Stacks on stacks.

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Oh, brother!

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Trick, or treat?

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Kiss your endorsement deals goodbye...

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Let the insensitivity ensue.

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Too bad you don't know how to send direct messages.

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Want to hear a bad joke?

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Don't put any of this on your college application.

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The tweets are watching!

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