Anthony Davis Twitter Scandal: San Francisco 49ers Offensive Lineman Promises To Tone Down Tweets

By Janie McCauley, Associated Press

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- San Francisco 49ers right tackle Anthony Davis is toning down his tweets.

After a series of profanity-filled boasts on Twitter following Sunday's 25-19 road upset of the previously unbeaten Detroit Lions, the second-year offensive lineman quickly deleted his posts. He was encouraged to do so by the team, but will continue tweeting -- just in a more thoughtful way. Quiet in the locker room, he is one of San Francisco's most animated players when it comes to tweeting.

On Monday, it was a simple "Back to work." And a shout out to his offensive line.

"I was excited. I was having fun," Davis said of his Sunday tweetcapades.

One such post that stayed live on his account: "Dont take twitter serious you end up coming off as a Dip---- w your correct grammar and all.. lol its entertainment loosen up (expletive)."

Some of Davis' stronger weekend entries were directed at Lions fans or in response to those supporters' tweets, and he insists he meant no harm. He said in no way did he intend to agitate some already frustrated Lions fans.

"I deleted them because people, it meant too much to them, I felt. I didn't want to stress them out," Davis said, noting some fans were "out of control, just Lions fans. I understand. They were angry."

Speaking of angry, it was Davis who found himself right in the middle of the fray trying to play mediator when Lions coach Jim Schwartz chased down Jim Harbaugh after the 49ers coach's rapid handshake and slap on Schwartz's back when they met at midfield.

Davis isn't sure what might have happened had his big body -- 6-foot-4 and 322 pounds -- not been in there trying to help keep the peace.

"Who knows," said Davis, an 11th overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Rutgers who started every game as a rookie. "He wasn't being aggressive, he was just celebrating the win and Schwartz took the handshake the wrong way. He shook his hand too hard."

He tweeted about that, too, but that was one of the posts that got erased.

Harbaugh's actions were still a hot topic Tuesday at Stanford, where Cardinal coach David Shaw and players hold their weekly media availability.

"Nah, not surprised," quarterback and Heisman hopeful Andrew Luck said of his former coach's postgame dustup.

"That's Jim Harbaugh," Shaw said. "It's enthusiasm, it's energy, it's competition. The guy loves to win and when he wins he gets fired up."

Davis sure appreciates Harbaugh's highly competitive nature, and so do his teammates. The 49ers began to go their separate ways Tuesday for the bye week.

"Usually a team takes on the character of their coach," Davis said.

Schwartz accused Harbaugh of using an obscenity.

Harbaugh on Monday committed to working on improving his handshake, while Davis is focused on Twitter etiquette. He just turned 22 last week and knows he still has plenty to learn in this game.

In terms of his language possibly being offensive, Davis downplayed that idea.

"I'm sure they hear worse in school," he said with a smile.