On Sunday, Sept. 28, over 250 Keene State College athletes and coaches attended a presentation in the Mabel Brown Room covering social media usage and personal branding.
Janet Judge, president at Sports Law Associates LLC in Cumberland Center, Maine, gave the lecture.
Judge, a Harvard University varsity soccer player and graduate, travels to Division I, II and III colleges and universities across the country to discuss Title IX, NCAA eligibility, job eligibility, personal branding via social media, sexual and verbal harassment and hazing.
“I learned that you have to be smart about social media. I usually am, but it was good to hear it,” sophomore baseball infielder Jeff Lunn said.
Judge spent her time at KSC pointing out that serious NCAA and legal infractions do not only occur at large Division I colleges.
She made it clear that anyone can make mistakes, especially if no one has ever been warned of the possible consequences for actions such as hazing or posting a provocative photo on the internet.
“I don’t know if I really picked anything new up but she was a good motivational speaker for athletes in general,” sophomore softball player Aliza Guerrero said.
Guerrero continued, “As college students we understand inappropriate behaviors, so in that sense it was good that she reiterated it.”
“But I think it should also be targeted to a younger group such as athletes that are in high school that may be playing college sports in the future,” she added.
Examples of such behaviors include posting pictures involving underage alcohol consumption, nudity and other inappropriate acts.
These actions can prevent students from getting jobs in the future and can also put their season eligibility at risk.
A loss of a season can also occur because of bullying or forcing teammates to do tasteless activities.
Judge warned athletes that there are many ways to get in trouble and lose the things you love, not to mention the sport you love, when you are an athlete.
Diana Pimer can be contacted at dpimer@keene-equinox.com
