July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Chad Ocho Cinco of the Cincinnati Bengals may have to focus on touchdowns instead of Tweets during National Football League games this season.

The five-time Pro Bowl receiver, who in 2008 officially changed his name from Chad Johnson, said last week in an interview with Houston radio station KGOW that he would use the social media site Twitter.com during games to connect with fans.

Any in-game Tweets from Ocho Cinco may draw disciplinary action. NFL rules prohibit the use of mobile phones or other hand-held devices in the bench area during games.

“If you break a rule, you can get fined,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said in a telephone interview. “There’s nothing that addresses that use of that type of communication before and after the game -- it’s similar to other interaction with the media. We would just look at it and clarify it with the clubs before the start of the season.”

The NFL fined Ocho Cinco $5,000 in 2006 when he violated league policy by replacing his surname “Johnson” on his jersey with the Spanish words for eight and five, the numbers on his uniform. His post-touchdown celebrations also led to fines and a crackdown from the NFL.

The receiver, who used to sport a gold mohawk hairdo and once raced a horse for a publicity stunt, told KGOW that he likes using Twitter because it allows him to reach thousands of people at one time in his own words.

‘Next Level’

“When the season starts, it’s going to get even worse,” he said. “I’m going to make it really fun. I’m using Twitter during games, during halftime, after the games. I’m going to be taking it to the next level.”

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is on vacation through July 20 and wasn’t available to comment on Ocho Cinco’s remarks, team spokesman P.J. Combs said in a telephone interview.

Aiello said that while the league recognizes the value of Twitter in connecting with fans -- Commissioner Roger Goodell used it to post updates during the NFL draft -- rules limit communication during games.

“There are no media interviews during the game, with the limited exception of the broadcasters who can talk to the coach or star player right before kickoff or at the end of halftime,” Aiello said. “Other than that, there’s no communication via the media by players or coaches during games.”

NBA Case

In March, Charlie Villanueva of the National Basketball Association’s Milwaukee Bucks was told by the team not to Twitter during games after he posted a halftime update. While Villanueva scored a team-high 19 points, Bucks coach Scott Skiles said it was “nothing we ever want to happen again.”

San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. provides a real-time service through which users exchange 140-character updates, or Tweets. A Twitter message with the “@” sign before a user name is regarded as addressed to the person who uses that name.

“We’ve been at the forefront of the use of Twitter and we think it’s a great way to communicate with fans,” Aiello said. “We do quite a bit of it. We think it’s a great opportunity. We just have to look at doing it the right way.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 8, 2009 13:53 EDT