Ball State Assistant Pokes Fun at Michigan on Twitter

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez is embroiled in a controversy about whether he forced players to exceed NCAA limits on time spent on football, and many coaches from around the country have voiced their support for him. But Ball State offensive line coach Jason Eck took a shot at Michigan on Twitter.

On Sunday, Eck tweeted, "Players off today ... unlike Michigan." Eck has since deleted the tweet, but he's now learning that nothing on the Internet is ever really deleted.

The tweet can still be found on tweleted.com, which recovers deleted tweets. And it has already been picked up at ESPN.com, in the Capital Times and on College Football Talk. And so, even though Eck no longer has the shot at Michigan on his Twitter page, it's out there forever.

Although I'm sure the Ball State athletic department will give him a friendly reminder that he needs to think before he tweets, Eck's joke was harmless, and I hope he doesn't get in too much trouble over it. This is, however, yet another example of how Twitter is changing sports. For the most part, those changes are positive: Twitter has increased the information available to fans by allowing athletes and coaches to communicate directly to them, without a filter.

But some athletes and coaches wish they had a filter. Jason Eck is now one of them.