Oracle Online

Apparently, each team had been spoken to by their respective coaches and told to remove all photos containing alcohol or unseemly behavior from their pages and photo albums. The athletes were told that the images in such photos portrayed the university and the sports programs in a negative light. Reports of the existence of a list of activities that were not acceptable for pictorial display remained unconfirmed, however, such reports included acts as drinking, excessive partying and same-sex kissing.

University Athletics Director Dan O’Brien denied the existence of such a list, while explaining the rationale behind the department’s request for the removal of certain photos.

“I had actually gotten two complaints about [these sorts of pictures]; one from a student and one from a parent,” said O’Brien. “Whenever I get a complaint, it’s my responsibility as an administrator to take a look at it.”

O’Brien logged on to Facebook and found that the accusations made by the parent and student that athletes were posting pictures of illegal acts--such as under-aged drinking--were indeed correct.

“I saw some things that I didn’t think were great representations of our kids or of our programs,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien proceeded to discuss with coaches whether or not they were okay with their students posting such pictures. He then asked the coaches to have their players remove pictures that they didn’t feel were representative of their individual programs.

“The reason that I asked it is twofold: number one is for protection of the students,” said O’Brien, referring here to the fact that employers have begun to use Facebook as a tool when hiring new employees. O’Brien expressed concern that such photos might paint a negative image of the students involved, whether they were athletes or not.

“All of us also have to remember that Facebook owns the rights to that site. Even if [a student] removes a picture like that, it’s not necessarily gone,” explained O’Brien.

Facebook’s user agreement informs the user that any and all information displayed via the Facebook is owned by the web host.

“The second reason is that I think our student athletes to a person would tell you that [Hamline] has some coaches who are working very hard on their behalf,” O’Brien said.

The hard work he was referring to here included both preparation for games and recruitment. O’Brien expressed concerns that parents of high school students with Facebook could log on and find pictures of under-aged drinking and behavior that may deter them from choosing Hamline.

From there it was up to the coaching staff to enforce the decision to have photos removed. Coaches contacted their players and outlined their expectations. No official repercussions were ever laid out should these expectations be broken by student athletes. There is no official policy which outlines the nature of which photos should be removed. The decision rested with the coaches and the discretion of the players.

“I’ve talked to five or six students who weren’t happy about [having to take down pictures],” said O’Brien, “but after sitting down and explaining where [the athletics department was] coming from, I think they understood. None of them walked out of here and said that they wouldn’t go along with this. I’m more than happy to sit down with anybody and talk to them about this [situation] and maybe encourage some better understanding.”

O’Brien was clear that the decision was not made with the intention of censoring student athletes, but was conceived to help protect them and to allow them to protect themselves. He also stated that he didn’t think that this issue was exclusive to Hamline’s campus.

“I realize that our sites probably aren’t any different from anyone else’s, but I would love to see us be proactive and be a leader in this area,” O’Brien said.

Most athletes spoken to for this article made it clear that they were not necessarily pleased with the decision of the department, but that they understood the position of the administration.