It came with much less fanfare than Arian Foster’s recent exit from the 140-character social media platform. But in the end the result was the same.
Chiefs left tackle Branden Albert has abandoned Twitter.
The pulling of the plug came in the hours after Albert expressed defiance regarding the possibility of moving to right tackle, following the unexpected release of starter Eric Winston.
Starting with “nope” regarding the possibility of moving to “you damn right” regarding his reluctance to be anything other than a left tackle, Albert drew a clear, deep line in the sand.
Thus, as of this posting, and as several of you have pointed out, Albert’s page is completely gone.
Chances are that Albert’s agent contacted the player with something along the lines of “what in the hell are you doing?” before explaining that Albert was setting the stage for either looking weak by later going along with whatever the coaching staff tells him to do or engaging in conduct detrimental to the team by refusing to follow orders.
There’s also a chance that, if Albert doesn’t sign his one-year franchise tender, the Chiefs will eventually rescind it. Coach Andy Reid did that twice in Philly, with defensive tackle Corey Simon in 2005 and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter three years before that. If the tag is removed at any time after the draft, Albert will have a hard time getting paid a lot of money to play any position on the football field in 2013.
So, basically, the social-media monster known meekly as Twitter has claimed another victim.
Like the rest of us, Albert knew the risks. And yet all too many of us eventually give in to the impulses that result in 140 or fewer characters we’ll never be able to fully live down.