Why Can’t We Tweet? The First Amendment, UNC, Athletes, and Social Media

Oct. 2, 2012: A representative of the UNC athletic department, The Daily Tar Heel sports editor, a sports law expert, and athletes discuss Carolina’s athletic department and team social media policies, how a ban on tweeting affects media coverage of sports, how other schools and states are addressing this issue and whether UNC policies violate the First Amendment and privacy rights of UNC’s student athletes. Panelists include UNC Associate Athletic Director Paul Pogge; Barbara Osborne, an attorney and associate professor in UNC’s Department of Exercise and Sports Science; Meghan Lyons, a business journalism major and a forward on Carolina’s field hockey team; and DTH sports editor Brandon Moree. The panel is moderated by Roxane Coche, a Ph.D. student in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication who studies sports journalism.