A big part of college life in today’s society is lived online.
Social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter play a huge role, but that’s nothing new. Neither is Steve Spurrier’s regular season ban on Twitter posts for the entire football team, a ban instated before last season.
So what’s new? Players are now taking to Instagram to photograph statements they would have tweeted. This behavior isn’t technically prohibited. With nearly infinite online outlets to use, Spurrier’s ban is proving nearly impossible to enforce.
Not only that, but the ban is an unfair infringement on the right of expression. While football players are widely visible representatives of the university, and inappropriate Tweets may reflect poorly on all of us, it is unfair to prevent them from expressing themselves fully.
Instead, players should be educated on how to use Twitter. The athletics department’s expectations as far as appropriate online behavior should be clearly communicated. Players shouldn’t — and with the sheer number of different social networks out there, really can’t — be denied the right to engage in a significant staple of the college experience simply because they are well-known.
As much damage as disparaging Tweets have the power to do, an unguarded flow of players thoughts and ideas serves as a reflection of life in the shoes of USC student-athletes.
With so many different outlets of online expression making enforcement tricky and unfair, Spurrier is better off managing game plans, not social media.