“Not in my house!” Sports Ban Social Media

Football is in the air as NFL training camps are underway and the first college games are only a week or so away.  As a fan, receiving timely information about how a team and players are doing is kind of a big deal in anticipation of the new season.  Social media channels provide a means by which to receive quick updates, many times from the players or those associated with a team themselves, giving a fan a true insider’s view.  There’s been quite a bit of coverage recently regarding the use of social media by players, and even fans, during games and practices.  Below is a run-down on some of the more pertinent stories.

Mashable was one of many sites that covered the recent South Eastern Conference’s ban on social media earlier this month.  Initially, the SEC threw down the gauntlet by essentially prohibiting fans from using social media while attending any SEC game.  This meant no photo uploads of the game to Facebook, no tweets, no nothing.  The ban stemmed from the SEC’s partnership with CBS, who has media coverage rights for the next 15 years.  As expected, this news, which spread rampantly through the same forms of social media that the SEC targeted to restrict, did not go over well with fans.  As such, the SEC has since revised their stance by basically stating that fans are allowed to post photos online and tweet during games so long as they are not posting or streaming videos of game action during the game.  As posted on Sportsin140.com, Charles Bloom, SEC Associate Commissioner of Media Relations states, “The intent of the revised policy is not to inhibit social media inside our stadiums with the exception of trying to protect our video rights as they pertain to our television and media partners.  Someone in the stadium can enter Twitter feeds or Facebook entries and photographs, but the game footage is something we will try to protect.”  Sounds a little more reasonable.

In the NFL, the lines of allowable social media usage are drawn between players and fans, as well as game vs. practice events, with some teams taking more extreme measures than others.  Fast Company and CBCnews did a good job covering this, but essentially the NFL supports, and even encourage players to engage in social media via Twitter during training camp and outside of team facilities as it connects the fans with the players.  Check out the Bleacherreport.com’s Top 10 Favorite NFL Player Tweets of the Week.   It, however, dislikes players from tweeting during live games, as evidenced by the recent dogfight with wide receiver Chad Ochocinco who vows to still tweet and has policies in place that prohibit handheld communication devices in the bench areas during live games.

Several teams have instituted policies banning not only players, but fans, from using cell phones and laptaps, as well as flat out prohibiting blogging, tweeting or texting during training camp.  The Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions and New England Patriots are leading this charge.  As to the reason why, teams are afraid of having practice footage live for public, a.k.a. opposing teams, consumption.  

On the opposite end of the spectrum, several NFL teams welcome social media.  The Jacksonville Jaguars text reporters and the Philadelphia Eagles provide an air-conditioned trailer for bloggers.  The Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers and San Diego Chargers currently have no rules against players tweeting and according to NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy, there are at least 300 players with Twitter accounts.   

Lastly, ESPN, as reported by Fast Company, has banned staff from tweeting anything that does not serve ESPN.  Maintaining a company’s reputation is important, but has ESPN gone too far?    

Obviously, social media is continuing to grow and as with any form of new media, rules and regulation will continue to be a “work in progress.” As a fan, let’s hope that any regulation is intended to preserve the fairness of competition, and along the way still allows a peek into the lives of players that until recently was not accessible.

»

Leave a comment

 back to top