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Article
Outspoken: Social Media and the Modern College Athlete
John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law
  • Meg Penrose, Texas A&M University School of Law
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2013
ISSN
1930-8140
Abstract

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution grants American citizens the right to free speech. However, in the case of college athletes, this right is not without limitation. In exchange for the privilege of participating in college level athletics, college athletes voluntarily agree to terms that restrict their abilities to speak freely, specifically in the context of social media platforms. This article details situations in which college athletes have made offensive statements via social media for which they later needed to delete, explain, and apologize. These examples support the notion that restrictions on college athletes' speech are not only constitutionally sound, but also necessary in light of the challenges universities and colleges may face if their athletes' rights to free speech are not restricted.

Publisher
John Marshall Law School (IL)
Disciplines
Citation Information
Meg Penrose. "Outspoken: Social Media and the Modern College Athlete" John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law Vol. 12 Iss. 3 (2013) p. 509 - 550
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/m_meg_penrose/44/