CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — UNC coach Butch Davis told his players before practice on Thursday to deactivate their Twitter accounts. UNC had more than 25 football players with accounts on the social media site before the season started.
An explicit picture posted by suspended fullback Devon Ramsay on his account earlier this week and an inappropriate comment by defensive lineman Quinton Coples led to the new team policy, team spokesman Kevin Best said.
Some of the most active Tar Heels players using the microblogging service have been suspended or dismissed from the team over the course of the ongoing NCAA investigation into the program.
Among them, Marvin Austin, Greg Little, Michael McAdoo and Kendric Burney posted pictures and information about vacations and shopping trips that have drawn the scrutiny of NCAA investigators.
Austin and Little have been dismissed from the team, Burney is serving a six-game suspension, and McAdoo's status has not been determined, but he has not played in the first five games.
Austin and Little, who tweeted about trips to Miami and Washington, D.C., shut down their accounts shortly after UNC announced the beginning of the NCAA investigation on July 15.
Davis had said in July there would be no changes to the school's social media policies.