Who would have thought 140 characters could create so many problems?

For most of Twitter’s millions of users, it provides a fun forum for interaction and opinion that rarely causes problems. But for college athletes like Henry Mitchell, issues can arise quickly.

Mitchell isn’t your average football player—far from it. Known to his friends and family as Beanee, he is a man of many interests, from creative writing to entertainment.

He hopes to tackle the world of talk radio with the same energy he brings to the field on Saturdays.

“I want to have my own show and give advice on relationships,” Mitchell said. He also raps and writes poetry.

Twitter gives sports fans instant access to the players they cheer for—something unheard of 10 years ago. In an arena as emotional as sports, this type of interaction can create problems.

Mitchell understands how someone could misinterpret one of his tweets or switch his words around to make him look bad.

He tries to use caution when tweeting, even if it stifles his creativity at times.

“I’d like to talk about some things but I can’t,” Mitchell said. “It’s part of being a college athlete.”

At ULM, the media relations department works together with coaches to teach athletes about social media, with topics including who is paying attention and what subject matter to stay away from.

“I don’t want to ban our guys from it because it’s part of our world,” head football coach Todd Berry said. “The bottom line is they have to understand what’s right and wrong.”

Some athletic departments are turning to outside monitoring services to keep up with the online activity of athletes. This has led to speculation that privacy laws are being violated.

In March, the state of Maryland passed a bill preventing public colleges and universities from requiring student-athletes to provide access to their social media accounts. Similar legislation is also being considered in California.

Law and ethics expert Peggy Bowers sympathizes with the issue, but believes that the public nature of social media circumvents privacy law.

“When you sign up for social media, you’re basically saying that my thoughts are out there for public consumption,” Bowers said. “There should be an understanding that you give up some of your privacy.