Collegiate Student-Athletes Need Protection From the NCAA

The NCAA has been receiving a lot of negative press throughout the past three years, mostly due to its official procedures as well as their lack of following them.  This first came to the public’s attention in 2010 with the antitrust case O’Bannon v. NCAA. More recently, the NCAA investigation involving the University of Miami has received numerous headlines not only for rule breaking on the Hurricanes’ part but on the NCAA’s part as well.

The University of Miami received its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA this past week. The documents were extremely bad press for both parties involved. Several recruiting violations by the Hurricanes were highlighted, and the NCAA outlined several of their major mistakes in the investigation process as well. While these mistakes in collecting evidence of Miami violations are likely to help the Hurricanes in their official hearing this summer, University of Miami President Donna Shalala seems to be preparing to take athletic association’s case to the next level in a real courtroom by using her former connections on Capitol Hill from when she served as the Secretary of Health and Human Services under former President Bill Clinton. And because the University of Miami is a private college and not public so as to be considered a part of the government, it could bring up multiple charges that public schools would otherwise not be able to, such as defamation of the entire athletic association or school that otherwise would have to be brought up by individuals within the case.

Due to the fact that the courts have been favoring the plaintiffs’ side in the O’Bannon case, especially by not issuing a summary judgment at the request of the NCAA, collegiate sports and legal experts are saying a possible trial involving Miami as well could lead to the demise and power of the NCAA. Multiple collegiate athletic directors are rumored to have been thinking about leaving the NCAA already and are simply waiting for a major catastrophic event, which could possibly happen in a trial involving Miami, where they can successfully propose the idea of leaving to their university president. Once one major athletic association does this, experts believe that other major programs will do the same, resulting in not only loss of respect and power of the NCAA but possibly the demise of the entire organization as well.

Although the NCAA has experienced scrutiny amongst programs and college sports fans for not following proper investigative and enforcement procedures in violations cases for years, there is a statement on the NCAA’s main website highlighting its “immunity to due-process standards,” which would be a very strong defense in the courtroom. However, the enforcement staff for the NCAA disregarded the majority of advice given to them by their legal team in the Miami investigations. If Miami did bring their case to trial and a summary judgment was not granted, legal and sports experts predict that numerous other illegal, unethical and corrupt activities committed by the NCAA’s investigators and enforcement staff will be brought to the public’s attention during the discovery process, leading to further scrutiny and possible demise.

The NCAA is currently reviewing and editing all of its policies that member athletic associations will vote upon in the upcoming months. This has occurred at a time when NCAA President Mark Emmert has been questioned by member schools on his effectiveness in the organization, although NCAA committees say that they continue to support him.

I've never been too fond of Mr. Emmert myself, especially after the recent shenanigans involving the University of Georgia's Kolton Houston. Houston was interviewed last weekend by ESPN about being injected with a banned substance unknowingly in high school due to a shoulder injury. He is currently ruled ineligible to play, even though he has said that he has not used any banned substance since. (For the full story, click here. To sign or view the online petition, click here.) After hearing Mr. Emmert ramble on and on at the Atlanta Sports Summit in April about how the NCAA's job was to "protect all student-athletes on the collegiate level," it seems to me that the the main evil monster that the student-athletes need protection from is the NCAA itself.

Social Media and the 2013 Boston Marathon

What a crazy past couple of weeks it has been... Before I even begin this post, I want to express how truly sorry I am for everyone affected by the tragedy that occurred Boston recently. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you, and I hope that justice is brought to those who caused it. According to Twitter, it looks like my wish will be fulfilled, which brings me to the idea of this post...

According to recent polls, over a quarter of Americans said that they received news of the bombings via social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. While this isn't surprising since many of us get our news through these social media platforms these days, it's a little crazy thinking about how the social community affected the rest of that day's happenings:

• Many people around the world used social to check on family members and friends who were in Boston that day.
• Although many users first heard about the news through social, a lot of the information was incorrect. Even traditional news outlets misinformed their social community.
• Several posts contained graphic images that some considered inappropriate to share.
• Over 60 percent of Americans stayed up-to-date on the day's developments through social sites since not everyone was near a television that day.
• The FBI posted messages on Facebook and Twitter asking Americans for any information they had on who may have been behind the bombings.

The thing that stuck out the most to me was the first point that I mentioned above. So many people around the world were worried to death about their loved ones and were looking everywhere for assurance that they were safe. News stories and personal posts immediately popped up on social sites of lists of people that had survived, had not or were injured. I witnessed this myself when I saw someone that I follow on Instagram tag several of her friends who competed in the race in a picture she posted of Boston asking if they were safe. (Thankfully, all of them responded saying that they were okay.)

I was also very impressed with how proactive the FBI was in looking for the potential suspects and asking everyone with any information to contact them via social, rather than keeping the investigation solely internal. You know Facebook and Twitter are legitimate media sources when the FBI uses it in a situation like this.

While all the people who were affected by this will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers for a long time, there are two people who got overlooked as a result of this tragedy. Lelisa Desisa and Rita Jeptoo: Congratulations! Your hard work and diligence in training and the race are not forgotten. You deserved to win, and you definitely deserve recognition for it as well amidst all of this chaos.

The Masters and Social Media

Since its first tournament in 1934, The Masters has done everything with “a standard of excellence that has never waivered through time.” Everything from advertising to etiquette rules for attendees to vendors and sponsors has been held to its high standards and strict rules, going against what other major sporting events have revolutionized: The Super Bowl is often remembered more for its commercial advertisements aired instead of the game itself; the Major League Baseball’s National League Wild Card game in 2012 resulted in game delays due to fans’ misconduct of throwing trash onto the field; sponsors at this year’s Final Four made more of a splash with the concerts and events they produced than the actual winner. None of this would ever happen at the Masters. All of these other popular sporting events have also vamped up their social media game. This is one promotional activity that the tournament has jumped on the bandwagon for, but, of course, in only their traditional and exclusive way.

There are many people who argue that the Masters has no social media presence whatsoever. This is entirely untrue, but I do see where they may get this impression. We all know that the Masters is the most exclusive sporting event in the nation, if not the world. That being the case, why would they be sharing posts through such common, non-exclusive social media platforms such as Facebook or YouTube? This goes completely against their style.

They do, however, have a Twitter feed, but this is probably about as mainstream as they will get. Followers often complain that the messages they tweet often lead them immediately back to their website by providing a link, but this is what they should be doing. Social media is all about sharing relevant and interesting content, and you can’t be that relevant or interesting in 140 characters or less. Leading users back to the Masters website also allows them to be exclusive on such a popular social media platform since most people who check Twitter on their mobile devices aren’t as likely to click on links in tweets as those who check it on their tablets or laptops. Because laptops and tablets are more expensive than the average smartphone, they are remaining exclusive.

The Masters has also created their own mobile app for their most passionate fans. There is no clutter or advertising on the app, just as it is at Augusta National. Users have access to eight live video feeds, the Leaderboard where you can click on your favorite player to view where he is and what is doing, course, pairings, a news center and plenty of stats. Once again, this app was made more for a tablet than a mobile device.

The Masters will always remain true to their traditional values, but that does not mean that they are fearful of advancing technologically. However, they will always be very selective as they do this. Many other sporting events are attempting to become as popular and receive as much hype as the Super Bowl, but the Masters is the exception. They do not want the huge audience of sports fans getting as excited about their tournament as they do for the Final Four or the World Series; they only want their “exclusive” audience of white-collar professionals giving a timid smile and polite golf clap as they cheer on their favorite player either at the course, Gallery or while watching at home, not as they’re watching with a group of friends at the local bar and sharing their thoughts about it on Facebook.

Brian Banks Signs With the Atlanta Falcons

On April 3, 2013, I was told via the Atlanta Falcons mobile alert system that they have signed Brian Banks, a former prisoner that was recently exonerated.

During his senior year of high school in 2001 at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in California, Banks was accused by a childhood friend of kidnapping and raping her at their school campus amidst a time when he was being heavily recruited by top football programs throughout the nation such as the University of Southern California (USC), the University of Michigan and Ohio State University. He has been quoted as saying that his mother was the only person who believed him when he told her that the story that his friend, Wanetta Gibson, reported to authorities was a lie. In 2002, a California courtroom found Banks guilty, and the judge sentenced him to five years in prison, ruining his dreams of becoming a college and later professional football star. Before the hearings, Banks had verbally committed to play for USC on a football scholarship.

While his dreams of becoming a college football star will never be fulfilled, Banks has recently found that his dream of becoming an NFL player is not over. Banks was released from prison a few years ago. Last year, Gibson surprisingly sent Banks a message via Facebook saying that she would like to talk to him in person. Banks said he was skeptical of meeting with her, but finally agreed to after speaking with a investigator and hoping that she would help clear his record since her confession would be the only way to do that according to attorneys that Banks had consulted with.

In the first meeting, she confessed to Banks that she had falsely accused him. The second meeting was videotaped unbeknownst to Gibson where she again verbally confessed to both Banks and defense investigator, Freddie Parish, that she had falsely accused him of kidnapping and raping her. She offered to help clear his record by confessing that he had never kidnapped or raped her, but she did not want to tell prosecutors since Gibson and her mother had also won a $1.5 million lawsuit against Long Beach schools over a decade ago and did not want to have to pay it back. (It is unlikely that Gibson will have to repay the money since the accusation was made when she was only 15 years old, but recent stories regarding the school district's attempt to have her pay the money that have surfaced are saying otherwise.)

Banks’ record was cleared almost a year ago because of Gibson coming forward with her confession. She has not commented to the media regarding the situation. Up until the hearing last year that exonerated him, Banks’ name was on the list of registered sex offenders and was required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet while on probation.

Since the hearing in 2012, Banks has played football in Las Vegas for the United Football League but has never been through an NFL offseason program. He will have the chance return to his star role as a football linebacker now that he has signed with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons as of April 9. While he has worked out with other NFL teams before (including the Falcons) and attended minicamps with teams such as the Seattle Seahawks, he has never signed with any team or participated in an offseason program.

As a longtime, die-hard Atlanta Falcons fan and strong believer in second chances, I am beyond excited that my favorite NFL team has given Banks this opportunity.  The only major press coverage that the Falcons have received since the Michael Vick crisis a few years ago has been about their performance on the field and their appearance in the NFC Championship. While I believe that their record and statistics this past season were very impressive, they are using their talent as the only means to hold onto their fair weather fans. With their signing of Banks, a large amount of positive press coverage has occurred, and the entire Atlanta community seems to be behind Banks and the team. I am hoping that Banks will be able to prove himself during the offseason and make the Falcons roster not only for himself but for the Falcons’ community as well.

It seems that I'm not the only person who is cheering on Banks' return to football according to social media. This story may have gone viral initially through traditional media (which is somewhat untraditional these days), but the response on social networks is what has kept the conversation about the story going. A variety of Twitter, Facebook and blog posts have all been dedicated to Banks over the past several weeks, and his name was even trending at one point. Once again, this proves that inspirational stories are popular shares amongst social communities. Everyone loves a good comeback story, especially in sports. (On a side note, it looks like the Braves have caught on to this comeback train going through Atlanta as well with their great ninth inning comeback win over the Nationals last week!)

Deal offers social insights to Learfield clients - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal | SportsBusiness Daily Global

Deal offers social insights to Learfield clients - SportsBusiness Daily | SportsBusiness Journal | SportsBusiness Daily Global

Social Media Referee

I have been visiting several social media pages and accounts lately belonging to teams and other sports organizations. Expecting to see a professionally created page, I was surprised to find accounts worthy of my teenage MySpace account. As I am learning about proper social media etiquette, editing and content, I find it necessary to share a few rules that my professor (my own "social media referee) has taught me that hopefully some of these page administrators will come across...

1. Use your official logo for all profile pictures. This will help visitors know that this is the official account and will associate the team with the logo and accounts.

2. Update often and consistently. You don't necessarily have to update your Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, blog, YouTube, etc. several times a day every day, but make sure that you are consistent.

3. Make sure that whatever message you are posting sounds like it is coming from the same person. This will help create your brand identity and personality through social media.

4. Don't post something that someone could easily find on the Internet. Statistics get really old really quickly, so don't post boring numbers that anyone could look up if they actually wanted to read about it. Create content that generates conversation, not just facts that no one would want to share.

5. Respond! Respond! Respond! The goal of any social media administrator is to generate engagement amongst their social community. If they do engage by commenting on what you or someone else has shared, respond to them with a message that will further the conversation.

For a great example of a sports brand doing social correctly with few whistles blown at them by social refs, I recommend checking out Nike's social media accounts.

LinkedIn's March Madness Bracket

Some of my friends and family that I least expected to create a March Madness bracket this year made one, as well as a social media site that never would have made my top three list of sites to have a bracket: LinkedIn. That's right. The site used "only for professional connections and communication" took time out of its schedule of reminding its soon-to-be college graduate users which of their acquaintances have awesome jobs and that they don't. Of course, they did it in their own LinkedIn way.

In order to make the placements on its bracket (shown below), LinkedIn came up with a "dedication score" using the different alumni groups:

Dedication Score = (# of current students and alumni with the word “basketball” in their profile) / (total # of current students and alumni)

Their prediction of who was going to take it all home? Gonzaga University! That obviously means that they are no longer in the running since the Bulldogs lost to Wichita State. Why am I so happy about this? I can't help that my head gets slightly bigger whenever someone claims that their bracket is bulletproof because of all of the science they made up and used to make it. (You'd think they'd learn by now that there is no science behind March Madness.) My heart is still set on my first favorite college team, the Michigan Wolverines (thanks to my dad), even though everyone told me that I didn't have a chance!*

*Because I work for the University of Georgia Athletic Association and am required to follow all NCAA rules and regulations, I am not allowed to officially participate in the actual March Madness bracket. However, I do print out my own bracket every year just for fun personal use.