To prevent scandals like the recent one at UNC, many colleges with big-time sports programs are now monitoring the private social-media accounts of their student-athletes.
Several schools now require student-athletes to "friend" their coach on Facebook. Other schools, according to the New York Times, have hired outside companies to track their students’ online activities. (Students are required to provide usernames and passwords for all of their social-media accounts to such companies.)
The thinking is: if student-athletes know their social-media accounts are being watched, they’ll be less likely to say something offensive or mention NCAA rules violations. What is unclear is whether it is legal to force students to comply with such programs.
What do you think? Is it okay to require students to provide access to their social-media accounts if they want to be on the team? Or is it an invasion of privacy? Speak your mind in the comments section below!
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