NFL American football teams the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles yesterday (Sunday) staged thinly veiled protests against the league’s new social media rules.
The NFL on Wednesday introduced fresh restrictions on the videos its teams can post to social media. NFL teams are no longer allowed to record videos inside a stadium during a game and post the footage on social media.
They are also barred from streaming any live action from a game via platforms such as Facebook Live and Periscope, and will not be able to post highlights directly to social media. Additionally, according to memos sent to teams, they are banned from turning highlights into animated GIFs.
The Browns and Eagles yesterday used their games, against the Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins, respectively, to recreate key plays using toy figurines, posting the resulting videos on their social media channels.
While the league did not comment on the situation, NFL Players Association spokesman George Atallah said on Twitter that the NFL’s actions had given rise to the “peak ridiculous” situation of teams posting fake highlights.
ESPN.com, citing two high-ranking team executives, said the new policy is set to be debated at this week’s NFL owners’ meetings following the reaction of teams to the initiative.
Teams that break the new social media rules face fines from the league. A first offence will cost $25,000 (€22,000), with a fine of $50,000 being levied following a second offence. Each additional violation will incur a $100,000 fine.