Dolphins safety Don Jones, who was fined and suspended from the team’s offseason program for a social media message about Michael Sam, has been reinstated.
Jones was required to undergo “educational training” as part of his condition for reinstatement, according to Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.
After Sam was drafted and became the NFL’s first openly gay player, Jones wrote on Twitter that he thought it was “horrible” having to watch Sam kiss his boyfriend on TV. Jones later deleted the tweet and apologized.
Although Jones is wrong if he thinks there’s something “horrible” about two men kissing, there are potentially troubling implications to the discipline the Dolphins handed down to Jones. The NFL doesn’t seem to have clear guidelines about what is and is not acceptable to say on social media, and as a result players don’t know which types of statements will result in getting fined, suspended and forced to undergo “educational training.” The league would be wise to offer training to all players about how to properly conduct themselves on social media, rather than simply reacting after a player has said something wrong.
