Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Just My Opinion: The Student-Athlete and Social Media

An opinion piece about why it's not the best idea for collegiate athletic programs to ban athletes from using Twitter and social media.

Recently, ESPN released an article regarding several NCAA Division I colleges and universities banning their student-athletes from using social media. While I understand student-athletes represent their respective schools on a more heightened level than the average student using Twitter, I am also inclined—now more so than before—to notice the difference between student-athletes and students.

The Student-Athlete and Social Media

The NCAA is always making a point to mention that student-athletes are students first, although they essentially have a completely different collegiate experience than their classmates. It’s important to note that banning student-athletes from using social media is a decision made by the colleges and universities individually and not an NCAA decision across the board. Sure, student-athletes are able to attend school for “free”, play on national television screens and live the life of a celebrity, but they also have to endure other aspects that may be daunting to the person sitting next to them in their math class. Many, if not the majority, of college students avoid having to take classes that start at eight or even nine in the morning. Their athlete classmates, on the other hand, oftentimes have 5:30 a.m. workouts and are expected to be in those same classes on time after completing a hard practice to prepare for the weekend’s upcoming game.

The use of Twitter, and social media as a whole, is a prominent aspect of the lives of this generation. Although, admittedly, not the best way to receive news, many of this generation rely on social media to learn about the happenings of the world—in an instant. Social media can be used to voice an opinion, and even start a movement. By banning student-athletes from using something that is used in everyday life amongst students is furthering the difference between student-athletes and those that are not members of varsity collegiate athletic teams.

The programs that are choosing to ban their athletes from using social media are not protecting the athletes from themselves—as some teams have said, but are taking away their voices from them. College is a time for students to find out who they are as individuals. Each team member brings a different experience to the team, why silence those experiences? Why not allow them to express their own opinion of current events molded from their own unique backgrounds? Isn’t that what makes society so interesting and intriguing?

These schools are taking away the opportunity of student-athletes to be more than just young men and women who wear jerseys for their colleges and universities. The affected student-athletes are also being deprived of preparation of appropriate use of social media.

If these same students are fortunate enough to play in a professional league, they are going to have the freedom to use social media, and they need to be able to conduct themselves in a way that will not reflect poorly on the organization or their individual brands. Banning student-athletes from using Twitter while at the collegiate level doesn’t allow them the opportunity to practice conducting themselves professionally.

Student-athletes are individuals who have the potential to not only be exceptional on the field or court but also in society as a whole. Programs need to allow their student-athletes to take advantage of the opportunity to make a difference on their campus and community as a whole. Allow them to be individuals who colleges and universities are proud of for being upstanding members of society and not just exemplary athletes in stadiums and arenas.

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