A Ridiculously Short History of ... Hacked Athletes
After the 24th birthday party on July 13 for twin brothers Maurkice and Mike Pouncey—centers for the Steelers and the Dolphins, respectively—somebody tweeted a photo of them wearing hats that read FREE HERNANDEZ, a reference to Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, their college teammate at Florida, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering semipro football player Odin Lloyd. Later Maurkice tweeted, "I fully recognize the seriousness of the situation involving my former teammate, and I regret that my actions appear to make light of that serious situation." It's hardly a full-throated apology, but it at least goes further than anything said by Mike, who has refused to address the incident. Too bad for the twins that their misstep could be proven with photographic evidence. Other athletes have explained embarrassing posts to social media by claiming that their Facebook or Twitter accounts had been compromised:
Paul Pierce
Nets
After his Celtics took a 2--0 series lead on the Magic in the 2010 Eastern Conference finals, this message appeared in Pierce's Twitter feed: "Anybody got a BROOM?" He claimed his account had been hacked.
Tyler Seguin
Stars
After the Bruins traded him to Dallas earlier this month, a tweet from Seguin said, "Only steers and queers in Texas, and I'm not a cow." He claimed his Twitter feed had been hacked and shut down his account.
Kenny Britt
Titans
He claimed his Facebook account was hacked in June 2011 during the NFL lockout after a posting announcing his retirement included a profane message about commissioner Roger Goodell.
Michael Russell
Tennis
A post earlier this month on the personal Facebook page of the world's 81st-ranked player referred to Australian pro Lleyton Hewitt as a "douche bag and a racist." Russell blamed ... his publicist.
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AL TIELEMANS/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (PIERCE)
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STREETER LECKA/GETTY IMAGES (BRITT)
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DAVID E. KLUTHO/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (SEGUIN)
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MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES (RUSSELL)