What have your coaches told you (if anything) about what you put online? Does your team have rules and such about these things?
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... /COLUMNIST
Web, jocks a risky mix in college
Commentary by DAVID CLIMER
Senior Writer
I'm fortunate to have my space here four days a week.
Thousands of college athletes have their own spaces at MySpace.com and Face-book.com, two wildly popular Web sites that are drawing scrutiny from coaches, administrators and even the NCAA.
It is a hot-button issue where the image of a player, a team and a university can be compromised. With a well-aimed browser and a few clicks of the mouse, you can find out all sorts of things about the likes and dislikes, the taste and distaste of Joe Jock.
Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer has called the issue "significant," and voices concern about the content on some of the sites registered to his football players. He's not alone. Many are worried the sites created by athletes can send the wrong message about the player, the school or both.
And, yes, there is cause for concern, especially among image-conscious coaches and administrators. It's one thing for a football player to have a centerfold pasted on his dorm wall or show his buddies a picture of him chug-a-lugging a bucket of beer.
It's something else to have such things pasted on an off-ramp of the Information Superhighway for all to see.
And what about a rather graphic description of what an athlete did â€â€
College vaulters: Has your Myspace/Facebook burned you yet?
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rainbowgirl28
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College vaulters: Has your Myspace/Facebook burned you yet?
Last edited by rainbowgirl28 on Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rainbowgirl28
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http://www.thefire.org/index.php/article/7068.html
College Athletes Caught in Tangled Web
Teams' regulations, free speech at odds over Internet usage
by Brent Schrotenboer
May 24, 2006
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Four San Diego State students recently logged on to a computer and did what thousands of other college students do these days during their spare time.
They were having fun on MySpace.com, posting personal party pictures and commentaries about life in college. Some included references to drinking alcoholic beverages and snide remarks about recent soccer practices, according to a student colleague of the four.
But because the four students were athletes – in this case women's soccer players – they suffered a penalty for it. When they didn't heed their coach's warning to stop posting on the site, they were suspended from the team.
“Some people on the team were pretty upset,â€Â
College Athletes Caught in Tangled Web
Teams' regulations, free speech at odds over Internet usage
by Brent Schrotenboer
May 24, 2006
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Four San Diego State students recently logged on to a computer and did what thousands of other college students do these days during their spare time.
They were having fun on MySpace.com, posting personal party pictures and commentaries about life in college. Some included references to drinking alcoholic beverages and snide remarks about recent soccer practices, according to a student colleague of the four.
But because the four students were athletes – in this case women's soccer players – they suffered a penalty for it. When they didn't heed their coach's warning to stop posting on the site, they were suspended from the team.
“Some people on the team were pretty upset,â€Â
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rainbowgirl28
- I'm in Charge
- Posts: 30435
- Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2002 1:59 pm
- Expertise: Former College Vaulter, I coach and officiate as life allows
- Lifetime Best: 11'6"
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- World Record Holder?: Renaud Lavillenie
- Favorite Vaulter: Casey Carrigan
- Location: A Temperate Island
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http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centreda ... 650742.htm
Auburn players on MySpace.com
BY CHRISTA TURNER
Staff Writer
Players we mainly know on the football field open up @myspace.com
Auburn's David Irons is the best cornerback in the nation, and he's a shoo-in to win the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back.
At least, according to a Web page.
David Irons' Web page.
Irons tells every receiver he covers that he thinks he's the best, so why should he be shy about letting the entire country see it through a personalized page on the latest Internet craze, Myspace.com?
Myspace.com touts itself as a social networking site, a place to meet new friends and stay in touch with current ones. The site boasts more than 40 million users, letting them create a profile of themselves, as well as post a blog or send an instant message.
Irons' Myspace.com page features pictures of himself -- on the football field, with friends, and with his younger brother, star running back Kenny. There are photo slideshows and video clips of him playing for the Tigers. Auburn fans leave well wishes under the comments section.
He's not the only Auburn player with a page. Kenny Irons' page shows off his biggest interest away from football -- souped-up vehicles. He has football pictures, too.
"It talks about me and football," Kenny Irons said. "My page is cool. It's got cars and this big truck I want -- a Ford 650."
Other Auburn players have Myspace pages.
Courtney Taylor's proclaims him to be the best wide receiver in the nation. The profiles of Robert Dunn, Lorenzo Ferguson, Brandon Cox, Lee Guess and Karibi Dede are more low-key.
Backup quarterback Blake Field and safety Tristan Davis have pages, but they've restricted access to who can view their profiles.
Auburn football players aren't the only ones jumping into this latest phenomenon. Alabama linebacker Juwan Simpson has a Myspace page, as does Georgia cornerback Asher Allen. Georgia fullback Brennan Southerland said he prefers Facebook, a site geared specifically to college students.
These football players are no different from millions of others, particularly in the 14-25 age range, who join sites like Myspace and Facebook. Myspace.com is open to anyone at least 14 years old with an e-mail account. Facebook.com was limited to users with a college-generated e-mail address, but recently opened up the site to those who don't have a school e-mail address.
The Internet sites are about self-expression -- in an extremely public way. While the sites enable students to keep in touch with their friends, they can also mean trouble, especially for college athletes who already have a high-profile.
Public scrutiny
When the Web site Badjocks.com pulled pictures from Webshots.com of athletes at various universities engaged in hazing and underage drinking, the fallout hit sites like Myspace and Facebook. The most well-publicized incident involved female soccer players at Northwestern University, who had posted pictures showing hazing, which is not allowed by university rules, as well as drinking and the simulation of sexual acts.
Additionally, several sexual assault cases have been linked to predators finding victims on Myspace. The site restricts users from posting information like telephone numbers and addresses, as well as sexual, obscene or harassing photographs. However, it's difficult to enforce those rules.
Facebook, which restricted its access, hasn't had the well-publicized problems of Myspace, but all the public incidents have led to many schools restricting what their athletes can do on either site.
It became a hot topic at preseason media days for the Southeastern Conference. Most coaches said they have policies to deal with the two Web sites, and players said coaches have warned them about it.
"They just said, 'Don't do anything stupid, because you're putting it up for everyone,' " Vanderbilt linebacker Jonathan Goff said.
Said Kenny Irons, "They talk about it in meetings. They say what you put on the page is the perception of what people think of you. You don't want nothing there of you drinking or smoking. You're an athlete and represent Auburn University and the football team and yourself."
For coaches, it's yet another thing to worry about.
"We try to talk to our guys about being smart," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "It's for their safety and benefit -- not just to keep negative things about Vandy off the Internet. There's no telling who's looking at that stuff and doing stuff with that."
Alabama coach Mike Shula agreed, saying, "Unfortunately, not everyone is looking out for your best interests as a football player or a young person. The best thing I know is to confront it, address it, talk about it -- the good, the bad."
Shula said that players at Alabama are monitored, as well as players the Tide is recruiting.
Georgia coach Mark Richt has his graduate assistants monitor the pages of his football players.
Auburn used an athlete advisory committee to devise a policy regarding those kind of Web sites, said Meredith Jenkins, senior associate athletic director. Coaches of individual sports also held meetings with their respective teams to discuss it.
Auburn coaches pointed out that potential employers now search the sites and that players should beware of possible stalkers as well as runners for agents. Auburn's players are monitored as well and reports are sent to coaches when warranted.
"We just want to make them aware they need to be careful," Jenkins said.
Generation gap?
Many coaches don't understand why their players are so into these sites. The players call it a generation gap.
"I don't see the attraction, but I'm older than they are," Vanderbilt's Johnson said. "I don't see the attraction of putting yourself out there for the whole world to see and take advantage of. It's scary to me."
Auburn wide receiver Courtney Taylor said he and his fellow teammates typically do it to stay in contact with friends, as well as people they graduated with.
"That's what I like about it," Taylor said. "I keep in contact with all those people I never see except once a year. It's a different age. This is a new age -- we got the Internet, we got technology."
The players are also accessible to their school's fans, with great numbers of team supporters leaving messages of encouragement under the players' comments sections. Most players have large numbers of "friends," many of them simply fans.
Fans and friends alike left Georgia's Prince Miller numerous comments about a blocked kick he had for the Bulldogs. Auburn's players had tons of comments following a strong win over LSU.
Facebook was limited to people with e-mail addresses generated by colleges, which kept out many underage people, but that has changed since Facebook recently opened to high schoolers and others without school e-mail addresses.
"I personally like Facebook because it helps me keep in touch with tons of my high school friends that are at different colleges," Southerland said. "I can just send them a message every couple of weeks or whatever."
Southerland said he posts pictures to show his friends what he's up to and he enjoys seeing pictures of his friends, but he knows to be cautious.
"You've got to be careful because whereas that's what I'm using it for, other people are using it to get into your privacy or something like that," Southerland said.
Right to speech
As teams monitor the sites, some people wonder if that violates the student athlete's right to free speech.
"Everybody is working through that right now," Jenkins said. "Right now, if there are any penalties, it's being held within a team atmosphere. We just basically warn them about outcomes, from stalkers on down. There's a lot of discussion nationwide. As we move forward, we'll continue to look at it. It's an interesting issue."
Most athletes sign a code of conduct pledge which gives their schools the right -- for the most part -- to keep an eye on them in such a manner.
Allison Neal, a law fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union in Alabama, said schools for the most part are within their rights to have some restrictions.
However, the wording of Auburn's policy, which Neal reviewed, could be problematic.
The document suggests the following guidelines:
• Do not post any pictures suggesting illegal or unbecoming behaviors (like underage drinking and explicit photos).
• Do not accept friend invitations from anonymous individuals.
• Activate privacy settings to allow only friends to see profiles.
• Do not post any personal information.
Neal said the problem lies in the use of the words "unbecoming."
"There is nothing wrong with saying illegal, but 'unbecoming' opens up problems with its vagueness," she said. "If something is deemed unbecoming that is free speech, that would be a problem. A school might think it unbecoming to identify with a certain political party. That could be problematic."
For administrators, the goal is to educate the players regarding how they're viewed by the public.
"As student-athletes, they have to understand accountability and that they're not just regular students," Jenkins said. "It's a privilege to be on scholarship. They're always in the public eye and they can't just turn it on and off. They can't post something and think it will disappear the next day. It's freedom of information, but they have to understand who they are as well."
Auburn players on MySpace.com
BY CHRISTA TURNER
Staff Writer
Players we mainly know on the football field open up @myspace.com
Auburn's David Irons is the best cornerback in the nation, and he's a shoo-in to win the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back.
At least, according to a Web page.
David Irons' Web page.
Irons tells every receiver he covers that he thinks he's the best, so why should he be shy about letting the entire country see it through a personalized page on the latest Internet craze, Myspace.com?
Myspace.com touts itself as a social networking site, a place to meet new friends and stay in touch with current ones. The site boasts more than 40 million users, letting them create a profile of themselves, as well as post a blog or send an instant message.
Irons' Myspace.com page features pictures of himself -- on the football field, with friends, and with his younger brother, star running back Kenny. There are photo slideshows and video clips of him playing for the Tigers. Auburn fans leave well wishes under the comments section.
He's not the only Auburn player with a page. Kenny Irons' page shows off his biggest interest away from football -- souped-up vehicles. He has football pictures, too.
"It talks about me and football," Kenny Irons said. "My page is cool. It's got cars and this big truck I want -- a Ford 650."
Other Auburn players have Myspace pages.
Courtney Taylor's proclaims him to be the best wide receiver in the nation. The profiles of Robert Dunn, Lorenzo Ferguson, Brandon Cox, Lee Guess and Karibi Dede are more low-key.
Backup quarterback Blake Field and safety Tristan Davis have pages, but they've restricted access to who can view their profiles.
Auburn football players aren't the only ones jumping into this latest phenomenon. Alabama linebacker Juwan Simpson has a Myspace page, as does Georgia cornerback Asher Allen. Georgia fullback Brennan Southerland said he prefers Facebook, a site geared specifically to college students.
These football players are no different from millions of others, particularly in the 14-25 age range, who join sites like Myspace and Facebook. Myspace.com is open to anyone at least 14 years old with an e-mail account. Facebook.com was limited to users with a college-generated e-mail address, but recently opened up the site to those who don't have a school e-mail address.
The Internet sites are about self-expression -- in an extremely public way. While the sites enable students to keep in touch with their friends, they can also mean trouble, especially for college athletes who already have a high-profile.
Public scrutiny
When the Web site Badjocks.com pulled pictures from Webshots.com of athletes at various universities engaged in hazing and underage drinking, the fallout hit sites like Myspace and Facebook. The most well-publicized incident involved female soccer players at Northwestern University, who had posted pictures showing hazing, which is not allowed by university rules, as well as drinking and the simulation of sexual acts.
Additionally, several sexual assault cases have been linked to predators finding victims on Myspace. The site restricts users from posting information like telephone numbers and addresses, as well as sexual, obscene or harassing photographs. However, it's difficult to enforce those rules.
Facebook, which restricted its access, hasn't had the well-publicized problems of Myspace, but all the public incidents have led to many schools restricting what their athletes can do on either site.
It became a hot topic at preseason media days for the Southeastern Conference. Most coaches said they have policies to deal with the two Web sites, and players said coaches have warned them about it.
"They just said, 'Don't do anything stupid, because you're putting it up for everyone,' " Vanderbilt linebacker Jonathan Goff said.
Said Kenny Irons, "They talk about it in meetings. They say what you put on the page is the perception of what people think of you. You don't want nothing there of you drinking or smoking. You're an athlete and represent Auburn University and the football team and yourself."
For coaches, it's yet another thing to worry about.
"We try to talk to our guys about being smart," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "It's for their safety and benefit -- not just to keep negative things about Vandy off the Internet. There's no telling who's looking at that stuff and doing stuff with that."
Alabama coach Mike Shula agreed, saying, "Unfortunately, not everyone is looking out for your best interests as a football player or a young person. The best thing I know is to confront it, address it, talk about it -- the good, the bad."
Shula said that players at Alabama are monitored, as well as players the Tide is recruiting.
Georgia coach Mark Richt has his graduate assistants monitor the pages of his football players.
Auburn used an athlete advisory committee to devise a policy regarding those kind of Web sites, said Meredith Jenkins, senior associate athletic director. Coaches of individual sports also held meetings with their respective teams to discuss it.
Auburn coaches pointed out that potential employers now search the sites and that players should beware of possible stalkers as well as runners for agents. Auburn's players are monitored as well and reports are sent to coaches when warranted.
"We just want to make them aware they need to be careful," Jenkins said.
Generation gap?
Many coaches don't understand why their players are so into these sites. The players call it a generation gap.
"I don't see the attraction, but I'm older than they are," Vanderbilt's Johnson said. "I don't see the attraction of putting yourself out there for the whole world to see and take advantage of. It's scary to me."
Auburn wide receiver Courtney Taylor said he and his fellow teammates typically do it to stay in contact with friends, as well as people they graduated with.
"That's what I like about it," Taylor said. "I keep in contact with all those people I never see except once a year. It's a different age. This is a new age -- we got the Internet, we got technology."
The players are also accessible to their school's fans, with great numbers of team supporters leaving messages of encouragement under the players' comments sections. Most players have large numbers of "friends," many of them simply fans.
Fans and friends alike left Georgia's Prince Miller numerous comments about a blocked kick he had for the Bulldogs. Auburn's players had tons of comments following a strong win over LSU.
Facebook was limited to people with e-mail addresses generated by colleges, which kept out many underage people, but that has changed since Facebook recently opened to high schoolers and others without school e-mail addresses.
"I personally like Facebook because it helps me keep in touch with tons of my high school friends that are at different colleges," Southerland said. "I can just send them a message every couple of weeks or whatever."
Southerland said he posts pictures to show his friends what he's up to and he enjoys seeing pictures of his friends, but he knows to be cautious.
"You've got to be careful because whereas that's what I'm using it for, other people are using it to get into your privacy or something like that," Southerland said.
Right to speech
As teams monitor the sites, some people wonder if that violates the student athlete's right to free speech.
"Everybody is working through that right now," Jenkins said. "Right now, if there are any penalties, it's being held within a team atmosphere. We just basically warn them about outcomes, from stalkers on down. There's a lot of discussion nationwide. As we move forward, we'll continue to look at it. It's an interesting issue."
Most athletes sign a code of conduct pledge which gives their schools the right -- for the most part -- to keep an eye on them in such a manner.
Allison Neal, a law fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union in Alabama, said schools for the most part are within their rights to have some restrictions.
However, the wording of Auburn's policy, which Neal reviewed, could be problematic.
The document suggests the following guidelines:
• Do not post any pictures suggesting illegal or unbecoming behaviors (like underage drinking and explicit photos).
• Do not accept friend invitations from anonymous individuals.
• Activate privacy settings to allow only friends to see profiles.
• Do not post any personal information.
Neal said the problem lies in the use of the words "unbecoming."
"There is nothing wrong with saying illegal, but 'unbecoming' opens up problems with its vagueness," she said. "If something is deemed unbecoming that is free speech, that would be a problem. A school might think it unbecoming to identify with a certain political party. That could be problematic."
For administrators, the goal is to educate the players regarding how they're viewed by the public.
"As student-athletes, they have to understand accountability and that they're not just regular students," Jenkins said. "It's a privilege to be on scholarship. They're always in the public eye and they can't just turn it on and off. They can't post something and think it will disappear the next day. It's freedom of information, but they have to understand who they are as well."
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VaultMarq26
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rainbowgirl28
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master
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Becca this is partly why I asked the question about what advantages are there to having a presence on MySpace or FaceBook. When I have browsed around on MySpace most of what I saw was people making fools of themselves. That's not where I want to associate unless there is a particular group that is using the great capabilities of the web to good advantage.
- master
- master
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VaultMarq26
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rainbowgirl28 wrote:VaultMarq26 wrote:The athletic department at my school had this long meeting where they were telling us how dangerious this could be.
Did they establish any guidelines for you guys to follow?
Well they are not allowing us to access any of those sites in any of our locker rooms or our student-athlete academic center. They aren't makings us deactivate our accounts, but they dont' want pictures with alcohol, or us to be in groups dealing with alcohol. They told us to be wary of what we post, but really didn't limit us much more than that.
Man Up and Jump
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ashcraftpv
- That one guy
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Back in the day, I had a nice private meeting with our A.D. over some less than complimentary comments I made about the Women's volunteer vault coach on a site I used to run. I ended up taking the comments down, but afterwards posted a disclaimer that the site was not affiliated witht he university in any way.
My general rule of thumb for the internet is never post anything that you wouldn't want your mother to see.
My general rule of thumb for the internet is never post anything that you wouldn't want your mother to see.
PoleVaultPlanet is coming.....
ashcraftpv wrote:Back in the day, I had a nice private meeting with our A.D. over some less than complimentary comments I made about the Women's volunteer vault coach on a site I used to run. I ended up taking the comments down, but afterwards posted a disclaimer that the site was not affiliated witht he university in any way.
My general rule of thumb for the internet is never post anything that you wouldn't want your mother to see.
I agree with that, mainly because smy mother reads most things that I post!
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