Nov 23, 2014 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – The use of social media by professional athletes and other celebrities opened a new avenue for them to interact with fans.

The results are not always beneficial.

Plenty of stars and athletes use Twitter, Facebook and any of seemingly hundreds of outlets to be a conduit to promote special events, giveaways or appearances.

Others like to use them to interact with fans on a daily basis.

And that’s where the trouble can start.

Steelers safety Mike Mitchell learned that last week when he got into trouble with head coach Mike Tomlin after sending ill-advised direct messages to people who were critical of him following the Pittsburgh’s 27-24 victory at Tennessee, telling one to “kill yourself.”

Tomlin, who himself has a Twitter account he uses on occasion, has a long-standing policy players can be active on social media as long as they do so responsibly. Mitchell is banned from Twitter for the time being.

“We all want to do it at times,” said Steelers linebacker Arthur Moats, one of the most active Steelers on Twitter, of responding to negative Tweets. “Some people actually take action with it.”

Mitchell isn’t the first Pittsburgh player to get into hot water for comments made on social media.

Former running back Rashard Mendenhall caused a stir in 2011 when he made some ill-advised comments on Twitter following the death of Osama Bin Laden.

And after a playoff loss in Denver in 2012, center Maurkice Pouncey reacted to fans in a similar fashion as Mitchell.

“I can see getting upset at some of the comments, but you have to learn how to control it,” said Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, another player who is active on social media. “There have been times where I know I’ve wanted to say some things to people on social media. You’ve got to let it go. You’ve got everything to lose. There’s somebody who doesn’t have anything to lose, so you’ve got to let it go. You probably feel bad about things on your own. People nagging at you probably gets you frustrated. You’ve got to let it go.”

One such example of reacting to comments in a negative way was provided by former Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders following a loss in Baltimore last season. Sanders dropped what would have been a game-tying two-point conversion pass late in the fourth quarter and was blasted on Twitter.

He retweeted every negative Tweet he received, most of which were personal attacks, including some of a racial nature.

“I just wanted to put it all out there,” said Sanders said at the time. He is now a member of the Denver Broncos.

But for every negative that comes from social media, there are dozens of examples of positive things created by its use.

Safety Troy Polamalu uses his Twitter and Facebook accounts extensively and gives away game tickets each week. So does linebacker James Harrison.

Others, such as wide receiver Antonio Brown, use it to promote things they are involved with. In Brown’s case, it’s a “Chest Up, Eyes Up, Prayed Up” clothing line that helps raise money for charity.

And then there are those players such as Bell and Moats, who want to give fans an inside look at their lives.

“For me, I always try to stay positive in every situation,” Moats said. “I know with us being in this position, anything we say is going to get blown out of proportion. Anything that’s questionable, they’re not going to give us the benefit of the doubt on it. I always try to make sure it’s clear-cut and positive. You always see pictures of my kids, my wife, just to make it clear.”

And if the negativity comes, there’s always an easy solution.

“Turn your phone off or just don’t go on Twitter,” Bell said. “A lot of times, if something upsets you, talk about something else. Act like it doesn’t bother you and you’ll be fine.”

Or, as actor Bill Murray Tweeted earlier this week: “Don’t forget: It’s very important what strangers on the Internet think about you.” #wordstoliveby.

The Steelers (7-4) return to practice today as they prepare to host New Orleans Sunday. … After hosting four WPIAL championship games and a Pitt home game over the weekend, Heinz Field’s turf was replaced. It had previously been resodded between the hash marks following the Steelers’ Oct. 20 game against Houston.