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Tim Epstein Authors Article Discussing Regulation of Student-Athletes’ Social Media Use for the Mississippi Sports Law Review
January 2012

Timothy Epstein, Chair of the Sports Law Practice Group, authored "Student-Athlete.O: Regulation of Student-Athletes’ Social Media Use - A Guide to Avoiding NCAA Sanctions and Related Litigation." This article was published in the 2012 edition of the Mississippi Sports Law Review.

This article explores the multifaceted risks associated with an NCAA member institution’s monitoring of student athletes’ social media use in the wake of the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations to UNC and provides recommendations to both the student athlete and the institution as a guide to prevent NCAA sanctions and civil litigation.

Part I discusses the role that social media plays in American culture and why the scepter of legal challenges based on social media use are unlikely to recede.
Part II outlines the NCAA’s current policies related to social media usage and the relevant bylaws at issue, which operate as an administrative framework distinct from our United States legal system.
Part III discusses potential legal challenges based on a student athlete’s constitutional rights under the First and Fourth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
Part IV discusses potential legal challenges based in tort law.
Part V discusses what NCAA member institutions have done to confront the issue of social media and suggests possible courses of action based on the potential for legal liability as well as NCAA violations.

To read this timely and relevant article, please click here.