The NBA doesn't want teams roasting each other on social media anymore

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 By 
Jacob Lauing
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The NBA doesn't want teams roasting each other on social media anymore
Can't we all just get along? Credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Keep those Crying Jordan memes under control, guys.

In an effort to prevent the "mocking and/or ridiculing" of other teams and officials online, the NBA released a memo to all 30 teams detailing new social media conduct rules, ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported Thursday.

According to the league, some recent social media behavior “crossed the line between appropriate and inappropriate.”

One example comes to mind. The Portland Trail Blazers trolled Grizzlies forward Chandler Parsons on Twitter after this comically bad shot last month.

A back-and-forth ensued.

The new rules are intended to help avoid Twitter wars like these. Here are three specific examples of what teams can't do on social media anymore, per MacMahon:

  1. Disparage, belittle or embarrass an individual opponent or game official.

  2. Mimic or impersonate an opponent or game official in a negative manner.

  3. Criticize officiating or the NBA officiating program.

The rules also seem to reference another Premium Troll Moment™ from last month. The Sacramento Kings, now a 10th place team, eked out a victory over the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, and sent a pair of cheeky tweets their way.

That's a big fat L (referring to the loss) in place of the Cavs' logo, and Kings star DeMarcus Cousins handing Cleveland a similarly gigantic L. Sacramento busted out the same trick in October, this time poking fun at the Phoenix Suns before this season even started.

Though the new rules might seem to suck some fun out of the NBA, they're nothing compared to the NFL's social media guidelines, which threatened to hand out ridiculous fines for posting GIFs and other content featuring game footage.

They eased up on those guidelines later on, but by social media standards, the NBA is still football's cooler, hipper younger brother.

Topics Social Media

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Jacob Lauing

Jacob is Mashable's Sports Intern. He graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he studied journalism and served as editor-in-chief of Mustang News, Cal Poly's student newspaper. Some of Jacob's favorite activities include watching baseball, playing music and eating bagels.

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