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Athletic Director Kelly Morrison Weighs in on New Athletic Policies
Blair Mullally '10
STAFF WRITER

It goes without saying that a big part of being a collegiate athlete means sacrifice. Athletes sacrifice what might have been fun times with friends for time spent competing with teammates. They sacrifice late nights spent partying for early mornings spent practicing. However, the vast majority of athletes find these sacrifices to be fair.

Because of their experience as students, the majority of collegiate athletes at SBC and colleges around the country are very technologically savvy. Though modern technological advances, like instant messaging and cell phones have been around for nearly a decade, the recent expansion of popular online communities are forcing the SBC Athletic Department to take a more critical look at what could threaten the integrity of all student athletes.

Because of these new developments, SBC athletic coaches, Athletic Director Kelly Morrison and SAAC members have come together to enact new guidelines they believe will meet these threats head on.

While Athletic Director Kelly Morrison believes that the online community Facebook was originally designed for college students as a safe way to meet and interact with other students, she is careful to distinguish differences between Facebook and MySpace.

“I think Facebook and MySpace are very different. Facebook was a website designed, originally, for college students, to be able to communicate, and feel like they could safely do that with their friends, and MySpace has always been open to the entire world. And so, what went from a very nice, honest way of sharing information, and sharing pictures, [resulted in] so many sites, companies out there employing people to go out there to find these bad pictures and there are numbers of institutions that have had to suspend players, suspend teams, based on some of the things that are on those Facebook pictures.”

While college students should be aware of this idea, the information many users of these online communities post online often suggests otherwise. By posting pictures and personal information online, students are often not aware of the negative effects that can result.

Because of the popularity of online communities like Facebook, MySpace and Webshots, Morrison explained that previous expectations were explained to fall athletes during August preseason.” Back in the Fall, during the pre-season, the stance was ‘Don’t have pictures up that would represent you or your team inappropriately’, and that doesn’t specify Facebook, Webshots, MySpace, and the guidelines [fall athletes] sign say that we want you to put out an appropriate message.”

Morrison further explains, “ That’s what we were mainly concerned about, was Facebook. At that time, we just put out the message that it should be a picture that you wouldn’t mind your coach seeing, your parents, your grandparents, or prospective employer.”

However, as a result of several factors, including recent negative publicity received by Facebook and MySpace, and the publication and prominence of websites like BadJocks.com, the Athletic Department felt that further measures needed to be taken as winter and spring sports began their seasons. In a result to do so, SAAC members were asked to give the Athletic Department “some guidelines as to what they thought would be some good guidelines.”

Morrison emphasized the importance of the new guidelines, saying “And because this is all fairly new, with the negative publicity of Facebook and MySpace with the NCAA hazing and the Dirty Thirty and BadJocks.com, is that it’s is becoming more and more important to make sure that the department has some kind of guidelines behind so people know what they can and cannot do.”

According to Morrison, the decision to implement new policy was followed by thorough research involving the policies of other area institutions. Currently, the alcohol policy set for Sweet Briar athletes by the Athletic Department prohibits drinking fewer than 24 hrs before competition, although each team or coach has the ability make it stronger. Currently, the swim team’s policy is the most stringent, at 72 hours, while most other teams have a policy of 48 hours.

Being that a set alcohol policy is in order, Morrison noted that “[the athletic department] decided to do the exact same thing on Facebook and MySpace, all of those.” Following this decision, several meetings occurred, first among SAAC members, and then with both coaches and SAAC members, with Morrison presiding as Athletic Director.

Morrison also acknowledged the “big gap between” policies of this kind for surrounding schools, noting that “there are a number of institutions that have pulled their students athletes off of all of them, they can’t put a profile up, they can’t put a picture up, they can’t do anything, all the way down to people are just now setting policies, so you’ve got both gamut in there.”

Morrison explained that during the decision making process, several things were examined, including “what’s legal and not legal, what the NCAA allows and doesn’t allow.” As a result, the decision was made that pictures featuring any illegal behavior are prohibited for athletes to post. The policies also attempt to abolish any connection between alcohol and the SBC athletic department, as “any picture[s], whether you are 21 or not, you could not have anything that says a sport on it, or Sweet Briar College on it” are also prohibited.

One might wonder the policies concerning those student athletes who have already reached the legal drinking age of 21. According to Morrison, pictures featuring students 21 or over with alcohol are fine, as long as “they have nothing to do with Sweet Briar in the picture or the caption.” Morrison sited the low number of current seniors playing a spring sport as a reason “most teams will probably set the policy that even if you’re 21, that won’t occur.”

More than anything, Morrison emphasized good judgment and responsibility for one’s actions, saying, “If you’re clearly drinking alcohol and it’s in a pyramid formation playing beer pong, that’s probably not the appropriate picture. If you’re at a picnic drinking lemonade, that’s not a problem. We’re asking everyone to be responsible, and just look at that picture. Is this a picture that you would show your coach, your parents, grandparents, or a job? If all of those people know that picture’s okay, then that picture’s fine. If you have a Sweet Briar College or a Sweet Briar Athletics shirt on, then there should be no alcohol in the picture.” It is very clear that the paramount idea is to “promote positive pictures”.

Being an athlete at any level comes with necessary responsibility, and according to Morrison, “An athlete should be a leader, and [as one], you should be responsible. One of the things you gain when you choose to participate in a sport is you’re taking on a leadership role, and so, promote a good message.”

Morrison also made it clear that safety is one of the main reasons behind the new policies, saying, “We all have guidelines and rules, and it’s really to have safe behavior.” Instead of simply being restrictive rules designed to limit the enjoyment of college students trying to have a good time, these new policies attempt to take a proactive approach towards encouraging responsibility in SBC student-athletes during each aspect of their college lives.

Among the students, reactions to the new policies have been both negative and positive. Though the majority of SBC students and student-athletes are no doubt slightly perturbed about the new policies, most seem to believe that the policy’s intent was to maintain the athletic program’s integrity, and protect students from the scrutiny of certain prying eyes.

One student athlete echoed this idea saying, “As annoying as it is, I do understand the reasons the athletic department has for creating these policies. Being an athlete means giving up certain things, to gain others in return.” The response of another student-athlete was vastly different: “Basically, I think it’s ridiculous. This is Division III and we do not get scholarships to play here, but Division I schools that do, [are allowed] to have their [photos featuring alcohol] on Facebook.”

Some of those with the most negative views of the policy tended to be non-athletes, with responses including the following: “ Facebook should be an outlet just like talking to a friend. It needs to be more private and less of an excuse to get all of us in trouble.” Another student displayed a problem with only certain aspects of the policy, saying, “I understand the administration's policy regarding underage athletes and drinking. However, the policy regarding athletes who are 21 is, in my opinion, too strict. I believe if a person can legally drink, then the college cannot dictate to them what they wear while they drink.”

In conclusion, whether positive or negative, these policies have had a definite response from the SBC student body. Like all other new policies, it is clear that students will need time to adjust.