http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4520907
The NBA formally announced its new social media guidelines Wednesday, informing teams through a league memorandum that the use of cell phones, PDAs and other electronic communications devices -- and thus accessing Twitter, Facebook and similar social media sites -- is now prohibited during games for players, coaches and other team personnel involved in the game.
The league has defined "during games" as the period of time beginning 45 minutes before the opening tip and ending "after the postgame locker room is open to the media and coaches and players have first fulfilled their obligation to be available to media attending the game."
"During games" also encompasses halftime, according to the memo, but the new guidelines do allow players to engage in social networking during the pregame media ccess period that starts 90 minutes before tipoff and lasts for 45 minutes.
Coaches and team executives are expected to largely welcome the league's edict, as they generally frown upon mobile-phone use in the locker room and on team buses, although the severity of restrictions generally vary from team to team given the rise in recent years in texting and e-mailing from handheld devices.
The league's announcement also included the expected caveat that teams "are free to adopt their own rules relating to the use of electronic communication devices and social media sites and services during practices, meetings and other team events."
The Miami Heat, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers are among the teams this week that have already announced a stricter ban on social networking than the league's rules, essentially forbidding it on anything regarded as "team time."
The NBA is also apparently cracking down on players standing during games?
Via Marc Stein's Twitter:
Other big rule change that teams were informed of today pertains to the league's attempts to cut down on players standing while on the bench
29 minutes ago from TweetDeck
NBA says it's responding to "numerous complaints that the NBA and its teams received from fans during last season" about players standing
27 minutes ago from TweetDeck