TIFTON — For a few brief hours Sunday, Sean Newcomb was on top of the world.

Newcomb, pitching in his second year with the Atlanta Braves, was one strike away from throwing a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was spoiled by a hit from Chris Taylor with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and Newcomb finished with a one-hit, 4-1 victory.

Before Newcomb could even leave the ballpark to celebrate, however, his near no-no was overshadowed by something else of his: tweets.

The official Twitter account of Newcomb, @SeanNewk, dates back to the 25-year-old’s teenage years. Among Newcomb’s tweets unearthed Sunday from 2012 contain slurs, some in the context of song lyrics, others homophobic.

Newcomb said after the game, “I didn’t mean to offend anybody and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. I’ll be smarter.” In a press release, the Braves said the tweets are “hurtful and incredibly disappointing and even though he was 18 or 19 years old when posted, it doesn’t make them any less tolerable.”

Sunday’s incident was far from the first involving athletes and social media.

During the Major League Baseball All-Star game in July, old tweets from Milwaukee pitcher Josh Hader resurfaced. Like Newcomb’s, they also contained slurs. Also Sunday night, previous tweets of Washington’s Trea Turner also came to attention.

Hader was mandated by MLB to undergo sensitivity training. No punishments have yet been announced for Newcomb and Turner.

These three are far from the only athletes to have their social media pasts catch up with them. There are a multitude of stories about how a quick post has not just caught a player his or her reputation, but also money and scholarships.

A California ABC affiliate in 2015 said a baseball player (unnamed in the story) lost a scholarship to Cal State-Northridge because of racial slurs he yelled after a game that were posted to social media.

In the non-sporting world, Harvard University decided to revoke admission to 10 students previously accepted in 2017 because of racial- and sexual-themed memes posted by them to a Facebook group.

It is unlikely any of these incidents would have ever been known about, much less made worldwide news, had they happened 20 years ago. Main social media site Facebook was created in 2004, with YouTube starting in 2005, Twitter in 2006 and Snapchat in 2011.

“It’s different now,” said Tift County baseball and softball head coach Kyle Kirk. “It’s out there.”

Many collegiate athletic departments now have policies about social media use by their athletes. Georgia State University’s 2017-18 student-athlete handbook said players can be disciplined for social media posts that contain “derogatory or defamatory language” or threats or photos that show hazing or discrimination.

“The student-athlete should feel free to utilize social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) in constructive and positive ways,” stated the handbook.

Kirk said he discussed the Newcomb incident with his softball players Monday.

He does not have an official policy for either of his teams, but does follow his players on social media. In the past, Kirk said he has threatened to take away social media privileges because of how players were using those services.

“I’ve had some incidents,” he said. Fortunately, the incidents were minor, mostly cursing in posts.

Over at Tiftarea Academy, head baseball coach Chance Benson does not monitor his players on social media. Rather, he starts in the dugout.

“I closely manage how my players talk to each other,” Benson said. Tiftarea players are not allowed to curse or use racial or homophobic slurs. He also keeps an eye on them off the field and one of the team rules prohibits players from being disrespectful.

Benson noted that the Major League players were approximately the same age when they made the posts as his players currently are. He understands the mindset of being a teenager and not considering the consequences of the posts, but is bothered the language in them was used by the players at all, much less on social media.

“They thought this was OK to post,” he said.

Kirk said players seem to be responding to his techniques.

“I put a lot of faith in [my athletes],” said Kirk, “hoping they make the right decision.” After all, he said, the players are not just representing themselves online, but their coaches and school. He thinks of potential consequences every time he makes a post. “I constantly ask myself ‘Who am I offending?’.”

Kirk was amazed that Newcomb, Hader and Turner had not wiped their Twitter accounts clean. Both Benson and Kirk said people are looking for this type of material. More players might have their pasts come back to haunt them soon.

“You’re going to see a bunch of them,” said Kirk.