California Business Litigation Blog

Reports of schools violating NCAA regulations by providing incentives to student athletes are nothing new. Numerous universities have been sanctioned for such violations in recent years, including the University of Miami, Ohio State University and the University of Southern California, among others. The most recent scandal, involving the University of North Carolina, offers a new twist on an old theme, however. The UNC scandal is notable because it was social media that first alerted NCAA officials that something was amiss. Tweets made by a student player on Twitter revealed that he was receiving unsanctioned benefits from the school.

In the NCAA’s Notice of Allegations, UNC was cited for failing to properly monitor the use of social media by student athletes. In response to the NCAA’s unprecedented actions in this case, universities across the nation have taken steps to limit, and in some cases, entirely prevent, athletes’ use of social media. These actions put schools in the precarious position of trying to restrict the First Amendment rights of their student athletes, most of whom are adults.

Some schools have stopped short of forbidding student athletes from using social media altogether, making mandatory monitoring a condition of team membership. Others have ventured even further into shaky legal ground by enforcing a total prohibition on social media use for all student athletes. Because the Supreme Court has made it clear that university students give up none of their First Amendment rights when they enroll, curtailing these rights leaves a university vulnerable to legal action from student athletes. It could be argued that banning student athletes from using social media rises to the level of a prior restraint on speech.

In the event of a legal challenge, universities will be forced to defend themselves in court and may end up paying damages. A more proactive approach might be to put an end to inappropriate incentives for student athletes, rather than taking questionable steps to prevent the athletes from telling anyone they are receiving them.

A special education teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave after a parent discovered he had posted derogatory pictures and comments about his students on Facebook. Jeremy Hollinger, who is employed by the Mobile (Alabama) County Public School system to teach special education at Eichold-Mertz Elementary School, posted the comments and pictures on his public Facebook page.

Celeste Dennis, who saw Hollinger's site, was upset enough to insist her son, a second-grader at Eichold-Mertz, be transferred out of the school. Although she says there were plenty of derogatory comments on the page, including posts about students soiling themselves and eating crayons, she says that one insult hit especially close to home. "It hurt. It genuinely hurt me, said Dennis."My son wears a helmet for seizures during P.E. He had a picture of himself with my son's helmet on making fun of him like that was some type of a joke."

Dennis responded to the cruel postings by reporting Hollinger to the school system and insisting that her son be transferred. The school was slow to take action against Hollinger, however, and he remained in his position at the school until after the incident caught the attention of the press. Initially, the school system refused to explain why Hollinger was still at his post. Nancy Pierce, the school's representative, initially declined to discuss the matter, saying, “Because it's a personnel matter, I can't discuss that with you. The appropriate measures were taken by our Human Resources Department."

However, on Tuesday, October 18, it was revealed that Hollinger had been suspended with pay as a result of the incident. In the meantime, Dennis hopes the suspension becomes permanent. "It takes a special type of person to deal with special children, and he is not that person," said Dennis. "I just want him out of there."

A second-grade teacher at Hillcrest Elementary School in San Francisco who sued the San Francisco Unified School District in 2006 for employment discrimination and was awarded a $60,000 settlement has gone back to court, this time claiming that officials at the school are retaliating against her for the original lawsuit.

Margaret Reyes filed federal court documents alleging that the school has made unfounded accusations against her and placed her under disciplinary review. Among other things, she claims she was disciplined for letting a student go outside without a jacket and “mishandling” paperwork.

Court papers describe a difficult working environment in which Reyes was denied restroom breaks and forced to teach in a flooded classroom. According to Reyes, the school’s principal, Richard Zapien, taunted the teacher and later refused to come to her assistance when a troubled student got violent and held Reyes and a classroom full of students hostage.

In her suit, Reyes claims that she is being harassed because she took the district to court after the school’s principal suggested that she should leave the district and seek work in a school associated with her religion. Her suit also alleges that Reyes has been discriminated against because of her gender and age as well as her religion.

Richard M. Rogers, attorney for Reyes, stated, “There was a budget crunch. People were getting pink slips. She’s Catholic, and (the principal) made the comment that she should get a job at a Catholic school to open a spot for someone else.”

Rogers also accused the district of not complying with the court’s order in the earlier case, although he said a confidentiality clause prevented him from being more specific.

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