Read on Twitter
Since lots of folks are confused about free speech, here’s what actual censorship looks like (featuring college sports examples, of course).
The recently-reversed Iowa football Twitter ban. “Iowa originally was going to allow one pre-approved tweet per month,” but *just* lifted the longtime Twitter ban in summer of 2020: https://dailyiowan.com/2020/06/08/iowa-football-players-take-to-twitter-to-address-current-state-of-hawkeye-program/
South Carolina Twitter ban. Steve Spurrier: “I don’t see how it [Twitter] could do any good for anybody.” https://mediaengagement.org/research/sacking-social-media-in-college-sports/
Former Louisville basketball coach, Rick Pitino barred his athletes from social media completely because it “poisons their minds”: https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/social-media-bans-violate-college-athletes-amendment-rights/story?id=33482714
UConn women’s basketball players aren’t allowed to use social media during the season. Chris Dailey: “We’re saving [athletes] from themselves. There are adults and actors and athletes who at an emotional moment tweet something that you can never get back.” https://www.theday.com/sports-columns/20190206/local-programs-learn-hard-way-that-hitting-send-has-its-consequences
Also Dailey: “It’s like parenting. Parents I hear all the time say you have to pick your battles.”
But ma’am! Did you not just say they are adults???
But ma’am! Did you not just say they are adults???
I also wrote about how NCAA scholarship policies can censor college athletes a while back, and you can check that out here. https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/contributor-post-how-ncaa-scholarship?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo1OTI1NzY2LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo4MzQ5MzAsIl8iOiJmT1NlaiIsImlhdCI6MTYxMDE2MDkxMywiZXhwIjoxNjEwMTY0NTEzLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItOTA4NyIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.y1OGNc72O2zfrtRFw-eMwTuE7AQ2gqBBIFag3d1SBCc
https://www.extrapointsmb.com/p/contributor-post-how-ncaa-scholarship?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo1OTI1NzY2LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo4MzQ5MzAsIl8iOiJmT1NlaiIsImlhdCI6MTYxMDE2MDkxMywiZXhwIjoxNjEwMTY0NTEzLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItOTA4NyIsInN1YiI6InBvc3QtcmVhY3Rpb24ifQ.y1OGNc72O2zfrtRFw-eMwTuE7AQ2gqBBIFag3d1SBCc
Highlights: “It’s always been risky for athletes to organize because, in spite of NCAA rules that regulate the cancellation, reduction, and non-renewal of athletic aid, coaches can use grant-in-aid scholarships as a cudgel against athletes who don’t fall in line.”
“...financial intimidation has always been an easy way for coaches to silence their athletes. One of the most pervasive myths within the NCAA is that athletic scholarships are guaranteed for four years.”
“according to Bylaw 15.3.5 of the D-I Manual, athletic aid can be reduced or cancelled (even during the period of award) if an athlete violates a team policy. There are no NCAA policies that regulate team rules, so coaches are essentially free to dictate whatever they want.”
“If coaches have team policies that even implicitly staunch activism, organizing, or speaking out against their school, any of those athletes who are supporting player movements right now are risking their scholarships.”
“That’s just one of the many reasons college athletes need employee protections and rights to their NILs: one of the simplest ways for coaches to censor entire teams is to threaten athletes’ livelihoods, and it’s too easy to do that within the NCAA’s current financial aid rules.”
“College athletes are controllable when they are financially unstable, and their scholarships often function more like puppet strings than a means to a free education.”
And here’s a rundown I wrote for @LRTsports this past summer: https://www.lrt-sports.com/blog/censorship-in-college-athletics-what-you-need-to-know/
So there you go! You’ll notice that NONE of the aforementioned athletes encouraged violence on Twitter before their speech was infringed upon. Their social media platforms were kind of just taken away for no reason (which is probably prior restraint).
*****Also, as I’m not a lawyer, this isn’t legal advice (I study sports rhetoric, and literally everything I know about law is thanks to the legal train wreck that is the NCAA). End thread.
