Getting defaced by Facebook
One of the hot topics at the Knight Commission’s Summit on the Intercollegiate Athlete Experience was whether athletes ought to get in trouble for putting embarrassing pictures of themselves on Facebook.com. Two University of Colorado athletes left their teams after one, a football player, sent a racist and threatening message to a student whom he accused of harassing his girlfriend. Both the student and the girlfriend were on the cross-country team. The football player and his girlfriend were kicked off their teams and are being investigated on possible criminal charges.
Finally, University of Kentucky athletes have been warned not to post inappropriate photos on the site. Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart called a meeting for varsity athletes to discuss the issue last week.
At the Knight Commission summit, Mike Aguirre, a former Arizona State University football player, had this to say: “Once you put something on Facebook, I’m not sure how much of it is your private business. Every action has a consequence, and it’s up to us to own the decisions we make.”
