League players banned from Twitter, Facebook

NRL star Jarryd Hayne is a user of social media. Photo / Getty Images

An NRL club has banned its players from using social networking websites Facebook and Twitter, according to Sydney's Daily Telegraph.

The Penrith Panthers yesterday became the first rugby league club to ban players from social media.

"As a club, we have a duty of care to protect our players at all times," Panthers chief executive Mick Leary told the Telegraph.

"We don't want our players using these social networking websites. They are an invasion of privacy. They can be dangerous.

"People get stalked on these type of pages. All our players must protect their private lives, particularly as elite sportspeople."

Facebook participants can access a wealth of private information about other users, from relationship status to personal photos.

Many NRL players, including Anthony Watmough, Josh Morris, Ben Hannant, Ben Ross and Ben Barba, use Facebook, while Jarryd Hayne, Lote Tuqiri and Sam Burgess are frequently on Twitter, the newspaper reported.

- NZHERALD STAFF