Matt Norlander

By Gary Parrish

LaQuinton Ross deleted the Tweet and apologized pretty quickly.

But by then, as is almost always the case in this fast-paced world, the damage was done.

"Don't know how much longer I can take this BULL----!!!!!" Ross Tweeted, and I think it's reasonable to assume "this BULL----" was in reference to the fact that Ohio State coach Thad Matta didn't play Ross Tuesday night for the fifth straight game. Elite recruits don't like sitting the bench, you know? But Ross' comments are also interesting in a larger scope, because they come just a few days after Maryland guard Terrell Stoglin Tweeted his displeasure with Mark Turgeon's decision to bench him in crucial minutes.

I don't care whether Matta and Turgeon are right or wrong.

That's not the point.

The point is that athletes must learn, sooner or later, that Tweeting something in the year 2012 is no different than saying something into a microphone held by Clark Kellogg. It's all for public consumption. I hear your thoughts when you say them live on CBS. I read your thoughts when you Tweet them to your followers -- if only because your followers RT them and those thoughts find me somehow, in this case via an email from our Ohio State Rapid Reporter.

Bottom line, don't be stupid.

If you're an athlete at a high-profile school -- you know, like Ohio State, which just so happens to be ranked sixth nationally -- you need to ask yourself one question before Tweeting anything: Would I say these words into a microphone with a television camera in my face? If the answer is a negative, don't hit "send." Because if you do, you'll look silly. And then you're just gonna end up deleting the Tweet and subsequently apologizing, at which point you'll look even sillier than you did before.