The NFL is going to allow players to tweet during the game from this Sunday’s Pro Bowl.

As first reported by CNBC’s Darren Rovell, players will be allowed to tweet from a designated area on the sidelines.

The NFL, often called the “No Fun League,” famously disallowed in-game tweeting in July of 2009. The NFL later fined a player for tweeting from a training camp.

Still, the league’s position regarding social media has evolved over time.

Of course, this is the NFL, so the sanctioned Pro Bowl tweets will have some caveats. Rovell says that players “will not be able to tweet from personal devices” and instead will have to use a computer station set up on each sideline. Additionally, Rovell cites the NFL’s Brian McCarthy as saying that the league is not considering changing its stance on in-game tweets during the regular season.

The Pro Bowl is the NFL’s all-star game — less of a game and more of a show — so it stands to reason that the league is willing to make changes to its official social media policy in this case.

Still, we have to question the rationale of “designated computer stations.” Rovell tweets that these stations are unsponsored, which means there doesn’t seem to be a fiscal motive to limiting the type of device. Maybe it’s just us, but this doesn’t feel like the league is really ready to embrace social media. After all, if players have to go to a certain area and use a computer, doesn’t that limit the “realness” of the messages they send to fans?

In any event, progress is progress. What do you think of the NFL’s decision? Let us know in the comments.

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