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27 J. Legal Aspects Sport 19 (2017)
Going for Gold: Social Media and the USOC

handle is hein.journals/jlas27 and id is 19 raw text is: Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport, 2017, 27,19-31 https://doi.org/10.1123/Jlas.2016-0016 Human Kinetics VZS @ 2017 Human Kinetics, Inc. ORIGINAL RESEARCH Going for Gold: Social Media and the USOC Nicholas Gary Schlereth Evan Frederick University of New Mexico University of Louisville The purpose of this study was to examine the social media guidelines established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which are enforced by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). Specifically, this paper explored the relation- ship between the USOC, IOC, and the USOC athletes with regard to Rule 40 of the IOC, which regulates athlete social media use and expression of non-Olympic sponsors. This study was guided by two underlying questions: Does the social media policy from the IOC and USOC violate an American athlete's constitutional rights granted under the first amendment of the Constitution? And, when the United States Congress officially recognized the USOC in 1978, did it recognize a federally created monopoly on Olympic participation for athletes from the United States? Keywords: USOC, IOC, athletes and social media, Rule 40, social media and policy When an athlete qualifies for the Olympic Games, they have fulfilled a life- time goal of competing for a gold medal. The journey is not cheap, with expenses reaching over $100,000. These expenses are often covered by family or sponsors such as Nike and Speedo (Kindelan, 2012). If an athlete wins a gold medal, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) will provide him or her with $25,000. In addition, an athlete could receive a training stipend or grant, which may not be enough to cover training expenses. Athletes rely on sponsors to make their dream a reality, but while they are competing at the Olympic Games, they are forbidden from posting content on social media accounts that provide support for their spon- sors (Gold Medal LLC v. USA Track and Field, 2016). The USOC must adhere to and enforce the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) policy on athletes' social media use, which prevents them from posting content related to non-Olympic sponsors during the blackout period of the Olympic Games. The USOC was established in 1894 as the national governing body for amateur sports in the United States. Specifically, the USOC is in charge of organizing athlete development and providing training and coaching for competition in the Olympics (United States Olympic Committee, 2013). The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sport Act of 1978 provided the USOC with Congressional recognition and its Schlereth is with the Dept. of Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albu- querque. Frederick is with the University of Louisville, KY Address author correspondence to Nicholas Schlereth at nschlereth@unm.edu 19

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