As a student at The University of Georgia, I enjoy spending my Saturdays “between the hedges.” Back on September 12th, when Brandon Boykin ran a kickoff return for 100 yards to score a touchdown, the first thing I wanted to do (after cheering and high-fiving my fellow fans) was to post on Twitter. Seems simple enough, right? Well, if the Southeastern Conference had their way, this is something that I wouldn’t have been allowed to do. In August, the SEC proposed a ban on fans’ usage of social media during the game, because they feared it would compete with authorized media coverage of the event. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube would be banned for all the fans within any of the SEC’s 12 stadiums on gameday. Luckily, the SEC altered the policy to allow fans to use social media at the game, so long as the usage was not-for-profit and does not include video.
The SEC’s proposed ban on social media is a very small part of the controversy surrounding social media and sporting events. Athletes are under increasingly tighter restrictions regarding their personal use of social media. A few questionable tweets by members of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team encouraged coach Mike Leach to ban all team members from Twitter. Leach took it one step further by calling all Twitter uses “narcissists.” The NFL hasn’t banned its players from using social media, but it has implemented an extremely strict policy for athletes, officials, coaches, and team personnel. In the NFL, social media use is not only banned during the games, but also 90 minutes prior to and after the game.
Like that of the SEC, the NFL’s policy seems to be largely due to the desire to protect lucrative contracts with media outlets broadcasting the event. But, is there more to it? Chad Ochocinco (@OGOchoCinco), wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, was publically chastised by the NFL for his blatant claim that he would use Twitter on the bench during games, despite NFL policy. Ochocinco’s very public struggle with Twitter led to what the NFL viewed as a full-on PR crisis. To the NFL, athletes using Twitter opened up the possibility of league and team secrets being spread across the internet. Thus, the NFL ‘s strict social media policy was born. Following this, Ochocinco threatened to delete his Twitter account:
However, Ochocinco never deleted his account. Currently he is still tweeting (boasting 200,000 followers) and broadcasts “The Ocho Cinco Show” on Ustream almost daily. For Ochocinco, Twitter isn’t about defying the NFL anymore, it is about connecting with fans and letting them see the “real Chad.” Certainly, athletes can stand to build up a great deal of excitement and interest in the game by their pre- and post-game Twitter updates. Athletes that I personally follow, including Ochocinco and UGA football players Jeff Owens (@jeffowens95) and Mike Moore (@mikemoore82), really connect with their followers by posting travel updates, pictures, and discussing the latest game with fans.
What do you think about the policies that have been outlined in NFL and NCAA policy? Should athletes be able to use social media freely, or should there be restrictions? Given how social media has been restricted during football season, do you think that the NBA and NCAA will follow suit when basketball season arrives?
1st & Tweet: Social Media and Sporting Events
As a student at The University of Georgia, I enjoy spending my Saturdays “between the hedges.” Back on September 12th, when Brandon Boykin ran a kickoff return for 100 yards to score a touchdown, the first thing I wanted to do (after cheering and high-fiving my fellow fans) was to post on Twitter. Seems simple enough, right? Well, if the Southeastern Conference had their way, this is something that I wouldn’t have been allowed to do. In August, the SEC proposed a ban on fans’ usage of social media during the game, because they feared it would compete with authorized media coverage of the event. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube would be banned for all the fans within any of the SEC’s 12 stadiums on gameday. Luckily, the SEC altered the policy to allow fans to use social media at the game, so long as the usage was not-for-profit and does not include video.
The SEC’s proposed ban on social media is a very small part of the controversy surrounding social media and sporting events. Athletes are under increasingly tighter restrictions regarding their personal use of social media. A few questionable tweets by members of the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team encouraged coach Mike Leach to ban all team members from Twitter. Leach took it one step further by calling all Twitter uses “narcissists.” The NFL hasn’t banned its players from using social media, but it has implemented an extremely strict policy for athletes, officials, coaches, and team personnel. In the NFL, social media use is not only banned during the games, but also 90 minutes prior to and after the game.
Like that of the SEC, the NFL’s policy seems to be largely due to the desire to protect lucrative contracts with media outlets broadcasting the event. But, is there more to it? Chad Ochocinco (@OGOchoCinco), wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, was publically chastised by the NFL for his blatant claim that he would use Twitter on the bench during games, despite NFL policy. Ochocinco’s very public struggle with Twitter led to what the NFL viewed as a full-on PR crisis. To the NFL, athletes using Twitter opened up the possibility of league and team secrets being spread across the internet. Thus, the NFL ‘s strict social media policy was born. Following this, Ochocinco threatened to delete his Twitter account:
However, Ochocinco never deleted his account. Currently he is still tweeting (boasting 200,000 followers) and broadcasts “The Ocho Cinco Show” on Ustream almost daily. For Ochocinco, Twitter isn’t about defying the NFL anymore, it is about connecting with fans and letting them see the “real Chad.” Certainly, athletes can stand to build up a great deal of excitement and interest in the game by their pre- and post-game Twitter updates. Athletes that I personally follow, including Ochocinco and UGA football players Jeff Owens (@jeffowens95) and Mike Moore (@mikemoore82), really connect with their followers by posting travel updates, pictures, and discussing the latest game with fans.
What do you think about the policies that have been outlined in NFL and NCAA policy? Should athletes be able to use social media freely, or should there be restrictions? Given how social media has been restricted during football season, do you think that the NBA and NCAA will follow suit when basketball season arrives?