Police Yourself on the Internet
July 14th, 2009 - byThe final part of ESPN’s four part series on Social Media focused on athlete’s needing to fully grasp the power of the Internet to spread information is a potentially negative way. Just as social media can be harnessed to be an extremely helpful tool, it can also expose parts of an athlete’s personal life that would have once been off-limits or hidden.
Coaches scour potential recruits accounts for any hint of scandal. Many times incriminating pictures surface that land an athlete in hot water. After years of trying to ban or limit access to sites, schools have begun to pull a 180 and actually take the time to educate their athletes on what is appropriate.
To combat Penn State is one of several universities, along with Virginia and New Mexico, that have reached out to a third party, Sports Media Challenge, for some guidance with social networking. The company has helped universities and entire conferences embrace sites like Facebook and Twitter as marketing tools and ways of branding their athletic programs, but Sports Media Challenge president Kathleen Hessert also has been asked to help some schools set social networking guidelines for their athletes.
“That’s where a lot of the demand is coming from right now for our services,” Hessert said. “They want social networking consulting, and part of that consulting is help us devise guidelines for what is appropriate and isn’t appropriate here.”
Hessert said one of the biggest deterrents for the student-athletes is the potential that future employers might be looking at their Facebook pages and that by posting inappropriate material, they could be jeopardizing their futures, but Hessert said the schools still need to set guidelines up front.
“For years now, everybody in college has been scared to death of Facebook, and they were trying to ban the athletes from it, and I’m like, ‘Guys, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle here,’” Hessert said. “Everybody needs to understand they can put anything up there they want but they have to be accountable for it. You set the guidelines up front and make it clear to everyone.
“In general, young people have a vastly different sense of what is private and what is public,” she said. “They don’t care about the things that a 50-year-old person cares about not knowing. In fact, they’re proud of what a 50-year-old person would be embarrassed about.”
I applaud this type of effort, but unfortunately this type of education is not being embraced yet by the high school sports community. Athletes hoping to receive an athletic scholarship should examine policies like LSU’s and really think about why it was written.
Please be aware that the Internet can be accessed by almost anyone. Remember that you represent LSU Athletics at all times. Thus, it is recommended that student-athletes do not post information including photographs, text and/or join “groups” that do not promote positive behavior. Remember that the general public, including news reporters, also have access to these websites (Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, etc.). While the Athletic Department has not banned the use of these websites, please exercise caution if you are a member.
It is highly recommended that you not post any personal information including your address or phone number to any on-line site. As a student-athlete you are highly visible and people are generally interested in you. Also, use discretion when posting pictures of yourself, your teammates and friends to your website. Do not allow yourself to be photographed in a compromising position. A photo could be “tagged” to you leaving you little control over the content or usage of the photograph. Inappropriate language, behavior or on-line postings may result in suspension or dismissal from the LSU Athletics program.
The bottom line is that all media, traditional or on the Internet, can be positive or negative. Recruits need to find the best way to use the media to highlight their college recruiting potential.
