The 2012 college football season has not even officially started and yet players at Ohio State were left wondering if social media would be in their playbooks come spring practice.
Reports earlier this week initially said new head coach Urban Meyer was banning players from using Twitter. Then, reports surfaced that Meyer’s plans were essentially flagged for illegal procedure.
Defensive players Bradley Roby and Reid Fragel told a Columbus radio station that reports of the Twitter ban were in fact not true.
Meantime, tight end Jake Stoneburner initially tweeted, “Twitter=Done. Me=back for senior year, leading this team, and shocking the world!! #gobucks #12-0.”
OSU athletics representative Jerry Emig, who was sat in on the football team’s Jan. 3 meeting, told a local publication that Meyer never informed him of a Twitter ban for the Buckeyes.
“All I know was I was not made aware of a ban,” Emig told The Lantern in a Wednesday email. “I have no idea where this all originated or how it originated.”
The Buckeyes, who fell to Florida 24-17 in the Jan. 2 Gator Bowl, are coming off of one of their toughest seasons in school history, finishing a mediocre 6-7.
Not only was Ohio State inept at times on the field, but it was and will in essence pay for the prior actions of a number of players and former head coach Jim Tressel through next fall.
The NCAA sacked Ohio State with a one-year bowl ban and added penalties recently for violations that began with eight players taking a total of $14,000 in cash and tattoos in exchange for jerseys, rings and other Buckeyes memorabilia.
So, could a head coach institute a broad band on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook for his or her players? Looking at it from a legal point of view, the answer is likely no.
Imposing a ban on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc. would essentially be like telling one’s team they are not allowed to talk outside of any football-related activities. While many coaches prohibit their players from talking to the media without permission, the thought that you could completely ban your team from hopping on the Internet seems a little out of bounds.
It is safe to say, however, that more and more eyes are tuned on how athletes are using social media venues these days, especially in light of some comments by both pros and amateurs that stoked controversy in recent years.
For the Ohio State Buckeyes and new head coach Urban Meyer, there is likely going to be a 15-yard penalty for pass interference, which is passing along bad information.
So, do you think college athletes should be banned from using sites like Twitter and Facebook?
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