CINCINNATI -- A message on Terrell Owens' Twitter feed Sunday violated the NFL's rules against using social media before games.
A post on his Twitter account noted that a fan wearing his jersey at the Bengals' game against Tampa Bay would get a football signed by him and Chad Ochocinco. The message was posted an hour before kickoff, violating the NFL's social media policy that prohibits posts 90 minutes before a game.
Owens was on the field shortly after the message was posted on his Twitter account.
"A lucky fan wearing my jersey 2day will get a signed football by Me & Ocho Cinco! My asst will pick U out!! Good luck!" the message said.
Even if someone else posted it on his account, it would violate the NFL's restrictions on players and coaches using social media before, during and after games.
Asked about the tweet following Cincinnati's 24-21 loss to Tampa Bay, Owens became angry.
"Is that something that you really want to talk about right now?" Owens said.
Told that he could face a substantial fine for the tweet, Owens said, "What, are you going to fine me? Is that really relevant right now? If it's for a kid, it's for a kid."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, "We will look into it." He added nothing further was expected today.
Ochocinco was fined $25,000 by the league for tweeting before and during a preseason game against Philadelphia in August. He was the first player fined for violating the year-old policy.
Ochocinco apologized after his violation and promised the league he wouldn't do it again. He has kept his word, respecting the NFL's time frame for tweeting. Several hours before the kickoff on Sunday -- well within NFL guidelines -- Ochocinco tweeted about his pet pigeon and a few other topics.
"Man watching the morning news n something always is going on wrong in the world, will there ever b a 24 hr problem free day?" Ochocinco tweeted.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
