In the early stages of my journalistic endeavors, I was cautioned by an instructor to always remember that journalism, whether it be in print or video form, may be the only profession where every word written or spoken was ‘out there’ to be scrutinized by public consumption. Once printed or uttered, the words you have produced form a direct trail right back at you.

I’ve always tried to follow that advice, and regardless of whether readers or listeners agreed with the subject of my material, I’ve always had to be certain that what I was ‘putting out there’ was indeed what was intended to be portrayed.

To be truthful, I have no idea who reads this weekly visit we share. The readers could be young, old, men, women, sports fans, or not. Regardless of those demographics, while this message is aimed at the young (and some of them may brush this off as ‘old-fogyism’), I am very hopeful that at least one person out there may sincerely take to heart that lesson I was taught many years ago. Updating a bit to today’s world my message is simply THINK BEFORE YOU HIT THE SEND BUTTON!

School is back in session, and nearly every student out there has, as their constant companion, some form of an instant communication device. While the thumbs produce the messages, face-to-face interpretation suffers and that message, perhaps sent as a joke or at a moment of anger, is there for the entire world to see.

A few weeks ago I was watching the popular TV show “The Big Bang Theory.” The episode was centered on a bachelor party being thrown by Howard’s friends. Each of the guests, in turn, revealed something a bit risqué regarding Howard’s dating past. As each story was told, the group all laughed and had a good time at his expense.

Unbeknownst to Howard, one of the group recorded the proceedings on his phone and sent them to the internet. Howard’s intended bride (Bernadette) saw the posting. The rest of the show consisted of Howard’s attempts to get back into the good graces of his soon-to-be bride.

Yea, I know, this is a sports column, not a TV critique — so let’s get to the point.

No matter how good an athlete, scholar, band member, cheerleader or just the average high school student is, in today’s high tech world ANYTHING you may have posted somewhere along life’s highway, whether in jest or not, can come back to bite you.

For example:

The Milwaukee Brewers’ pitcher, Josh Hader, had just experienced the dream of every professional baseball player, being named to the 2018 National League All-Star team. Following the thrill of pitching in his first All-Star game, his world came crashing down around him before he could get to the post-game dugout.

Someone ‘out there’ accessed a racist and homophobic tweet Hader had posted as a 17-year-old in 2011 and re-posted it for all to see. There is no defense for Hader’s teenaged actions, but what he had done now became front and center at a time that should have been a wonderful moment in his baseball career.

Ditto for the Atlanta Braves’ pitcher, Sean Newcomb, when, a few weeks later, he came within one strike of pitching a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After his near-perfect gem, he too was the victim of ‘tweeter revenge’ when he had to answer questions about his own 2011 racial and gay slurs posted as a high school senior.

Newcomb apologized, telling reporters, “I didn’t mean anything by it.” Of course, he meant something; he posted it. What he probably meant was that, at the time, he thought that his language and actions on social media didn’t matter. As an 18-year-old, he didn’t envision a world where his lack of sense would be out on display and rob him of a very special moment in his professional baseball career.

Harder and Newcomb aren’t the only athletes or celebrities whose ‘spur of the moment’ careless tweets have got them in trouble. All too often, lives are negatively affected by the discovery of something damaging they posted years earlier.

This point was most accurately illustrated in a recent article penned by Don Yeager who wrote, “Your behavior on social media, and in the public, is more important today than ever because we live in a true 24-hour news cycle. Everything we do can be news, and ALL of us can become newsworthy.

“Maybe if there’s anything good that comes from high-profile athletes doing something stupid, it’s that it gives all of us another wakeup call. If you posted something on Twitter five years ago that might cost you a job today, shouldn’t you be concerned about that? Don’t think people can’t find your tweets, posts, or likes? You have no idea who it is that is out there searching for these things.”

Well said, Mr. Yeager!

Sports are to be enjoyed, as are the high school years of our young people. It is not a subject taught in school, but before you hit any more future ‘send buttons’ use some common sense. Stop, think, and consider what you have written on that screen in front of you. Is it something that you could be sorry about sometime down the road?