use of social media

[slsewsilly]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
what is the law on requiring a student athlete to "friend" the coach?

So if the "Code of Conduct" states: Coach must be a "friend" on Facebook, and the student athlete "friends" the coach and then blocks them, is this reason for dismissal from the team?

I am in total agreement that disciplinary action can be taken against a student athlete if posting inappropriate material as outlined in the "code of conduct" and rules, but to mandate that a student athlete "friend" the coach seems to be out of line. That would be equivalent to the HR department of a business requesting every employee to "friend" them.

Is mandating the coach to be a "friend" an invasion of privacy?

 

[FarmerJ]

You wont find any so called laws about it , the account holder is free to set the account up in such a way that the acct stays private and they regulate WHO can and cannot see them and if faculty dont like it too bad for them , they can move on. As much as I enjoy some of my co workers they do get over it when I dont add them.

 

[CdwJava]

I suspect that the reasoning here is that the coach or school staff want to see what the kids are up to and this is their way of monitoring behavior to include unbecoming conduct away from school.

You can always deny the request and see what the coach will do. If they kick you off the team for not adding the coach as a "friend" then your parents would have to decide if this is an issue worth a few thousand dollars for them to hire an attorney.

The school or team can adopt codes of conduct that they see as appropriate. Whether a court would uphold their reasoning for compelling this I cannot say. I suspect that this level of monitoring would be over the top, but, it may not be unlawful.

 

[csi7]

There is a regulation in some school districts that employees may NOT be friends on social media sites. It is grounds for the employee to be immediately terminated.
I would check the computer use policy, ask school board members what the policy is, and how the policy is enforced. If the policy is "unwritten", find out how to make it official.

 

[cyjeff]

There is an added dimension here... that football is a extracurricular activity.

That means that we aren't denying anyone a government mandated right.... so the coach may have some leeway.

 

[stealth2]

LOL The coach doesn't need to be a friend to know what's going on. Out of the entire team, does anyone seriously believe there isn't ONE kid who will report violations? That's delusional.

 

[angelpie545]

I'm not sure of the legalities, but the coach doesn't need to know who does and who doesn't have a Facebook. Your name can be whatever you want it to be on Facebook and you can block the coach in the first place, so he would never even know you have an account. Honestly, I'd contact the other parents and see how they feel. There has been a lot of "to do" in the press lately about how far schools can legally go in monitoring their students' activities outside of the classroom and school-related functions. I personally feel that the schools should have absolutely no say outside of the classroom, but that's just me.