AN OCCASIONAL COLUMN
Amy Dames Smith, NCAA Compliance Officer

It doesn’t seem like so long ago that the social networking Web site, Facebook, was something known only by those around the college scene.  Facebook has experienced tremendous growth since it was opened up for use to the general public in 2006.  Since then, its use by college-aged student-athletes has become even more scrutinized since so many people are allowed access.

Linfield’s stance regarding Facebook is similar to most colleges and universities these days. At Linfield, the Athletics Department addresses student-athlete use of Facebook at the beginning of each sport season.  A section in the Linfield Student Athlete Handbook under “Code of Conduct and Sportsmanship” reads “Negative representation brought forth on public accessed Web sites will not be tolerated and will be dealt with as a violation of athletic code of conduct.” 

Linfield encourages student-athletes to monitor their Facebook pages so they are being characterized in a positive light.  The college treats any negative depiction of a student-athlete (such as a photograph of an athlete with beer in hand) as if the coach were actually present.

A recent article on ESPN.com addressed the role Facebook plays in the college athlete’s life from the athlete’s perspective.  In the article, Myron Rolle, a former Florida State football player said “I wanted people to think of me as that upstanding scholar-athlete. Anytime someone was thinking about tagging a picture of me, I'd make sure I'd look at it first and say, ‘OK, is this picture OK? Would my mother appreciate this picture?’”

For a different perspective, coaches must adhere to NCAA rules when it comes to use of Facebook. NCAA rules prohibit coaches from communicating with recruits on social networking Web sites like Facebook. Essentially, the NCAA rule only allows for coaches to communicate with recruits via email, “snail mail”, and fax (Facebook, Instant Messages and text messages are considered rules violations).

As times change and everyone becomes more technologically savvy, we continue to strive to always keep Linfield in compliance!