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Richard Jefferson recently revealed why the NBA introduced a Twitter ban before and after games in 2009. Jefferson explained that one of his teammates tweeted at halftime because he was having a bad game. It led to the league banning players from tweeting 90 minutes before the game and until the postgame interviews end.
On "The Pat Bev Podcast with Rone," Jefferson shared a small tidbit about the rise of social media within the NBA. The one-time champ explained that Charlie Villanueva's midgame tweet for the Milwaukee Bucks is the reason why the league enforced a Twitter rule in 2009.
"We're playing in Milwaukee playing against the Lakers," Jefferson said. "He has a sh*tty game, well a sh*tty first half. He comes in, this motherf***er tweets. ...
"There's no rules to social media at this point in time, so he goes out balls in the second half. Now, everybody's picking up this tweet that he said this, and everyone's minds are exploding that athletes can now tweet in the middle of the game."
Richard Jefferson was telling the truth, as the NBA introduced a Twitter ban before and after games at the start of the 2009-10 season. Players are not allowed to tweet 90 minutes before a game and around 45 minutes after or once the postgame media availability is done.
Charlie Villanueva was proud that he was the reason the ban was enforced, calling it as the "Villanueva Rule." He did it during the 2008-09 season when he was with the Milwaukee Bucks. He became a free agent after the season and signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Detroit Pistons.
Richard Jefferson's comments about Warriors assistant draw flak
Richard Jefferson made an insensitive remark during an ESPN broadcast before the All-Star break during a game between the Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers. Jefferson mentioned that the death of assistant coach Dejan Milosevic was something the Warriors needed during their struggling season.
It was in poor taste considering that Milosevic had died of a heart attack in Utah, and the NBA had to postpone two games involving Golden State. Nevertheless, Jefferson still doubled down on his take and explained his side, tweeting:
"It's a very emotional time for all my brother on the Warriors and the entire NBA family," Jefferson wrote. "I might have fumbled my words there, but anyone trying to make it something else doesn't understand our NBA family."
