Senior journalism major and volleyball player Kevin Cape got rid of his MySpace page this last summer after having it for about a year.
“It’s a fun way to talk to friends and keep in touch, but I guess it just lost its luster for me,” Cape said.
For the first time the volleyball head coach Alan Knipe and staff instituted a team rule indicating that all of the players must get rid of their MySpace pages in order to avoid any possible problems that could result in placing themselves in full view of the public.
There is a Web site called BadJocks.com that tracks MySpace and Facebook Web sites looking for athletes who are shown hazing new athletes, drinking, being rowdy or involved in any activity that is against National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules. Once the Web site finds you, it sends an e-mail to the school requesting action be taken. If the athletic department housing that athlete does not take action, then the Web site will post that the university has not taken action, which can lead to the involvement of the NCAA.
NCAA spokeswoman Jennifer Kearns said, “At this point, it’s an individual institution’s issue and decision. The athletics administration on each campus sets their own rules.”
For many teams, coaches warn student-athletes, who are NCAA participants, about the dangers of MySpace. If an athlete has any photos, statements or anything that displays behavior that could defame the athletic community, the coaches or the university could sanction an athlete to be suspended from the sport.
“It’s not mandated not to have MySpace. We advise athletes to be very careful,” said Candice Chick, CHAMPS/”Life skills Program coordinator for the Long Beach State athletic department. “We try to tell athletes that what you are putting on MySpace is being looked at. People will use ammo if they see anything.”
When signing up for MySpace, many may never read the fine print. In MySpace’s Terms of Use Agreement, there is a list of over twenty guidelines to content and activity that is prohibited on the Web site. A few activities through the digression of MySpace could result in either termination of one’s membership or legal action include but are not limited to any content that promotes racism, bigotry, hatred, harassment or supporters’ harassment of physical violence against any person or group. The Web site explains that it reserves the right to not only investigate and take legal action, but to report violators to the appropriate law enforcement.
Chairman of the Journalism department William Babcock said, “It’s [MySpace] such a seductive medium. People tend to be trusting of what they see on MySpace without questioning the voracity of it. Once you’ve gone on MySpace, you have published yourself.”
In May, four women on the women’s soccer team at San Diego State University were suspended from their team after not obeying the orders of their coach to steer away from MySpace, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The article stated that the athletes were posting photos from parties and including indications of alcohol consumption after their coach warned them to refrain from posting things on their MySpace pages.
Cape said MySpace users can distort their own image and it has become a place for drama.
“It’s a quality vs. quantity issue,” Cape said. “You have more friends and meet a lot more people, but the level in which you are communicating with them has declined from real interactions.”
Chick said that although it is unfortunate that athletes are put under such a huge magnifying glass and have strict guidelines they have to obey, “they are ambassadors to the university and are held at a different level than any average student. It’s a privilege to be a student-athlete but with that comes some limitations.”
