West Virginia Says Football TikTok Ban Is Not Written Policy

Good luck finding a copy of Rich Rodriguez’s TikTok ban. 

A week ago, the West Virginia football coach told reporters he was prohibiting his players from dancing on the popular social media app, which plenty of other college football players do, because he didn’t like the perception it gave about his program. 

“They’re going to be on it, so I’m not banning them from it,” he said Monday. “I’m just banning them from dancing on it. It’s like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever, and you’re in there in your tights dancing on TikTok, ain’t quite the image of our program that I want.”

But Rodriguez’s ban seems to just be a verbal one that doesn’t exist in writing. A Front Office Sports request to the Mountaineers athletic department through the Freedom of Information Act to see Rodriguez’s ban came back empty. 

“There is not a written document as this was done verbally,” the university’s FOIA officer said in an email.

Rodriguez is in his second stint at West Virginia, his alma mater, after previously coaching at the school from 2001 to 2007. He said the rule was made as a way to keep athletes focused on the team and not their individual brands. 

“I’m allowed to do that. I can have rules,” he said on March 10. “Twenty years from now, if they want to be sitting in their pajamas in the basement eating Cheetos and watching TikTok or whatever the hell, they can go at it, smoking cannabis, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

While the lack of a formal ban or written document questions the enforceability of the rule, name, image, and likeness attorney Darren Heitner told FOS in an email that players should treat it as if it were in writing. 

“If the coach makes it clear that the act is impermissible, then whether it is oral or in writing, athletes will likely perceive the edict as effective,” Heitner told FOS. “Given the publicity of the alleged ban, I doubt any athlete will be able to credibly state he was unaware of the policy. However, getting kicked off the team for a violation, whether the policy is in writing or not, does present legal issues.” 

Rodriguez’s ban has also brought into question players’ First Amendment rights. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a letter to West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker on March 17 to ask his coach to overturn the ban. 

“We appreciate that Rodriguez wishes to project a certain image of his team to the public, but this directive violates the First Amendment rights of his student-athletes,” the letter said. “Accordingly, FIRE urges WVU to make clear to its football program that players are permitted to post dancing videos on social media platforms.”

Baker’s response may be delayed. He’s currently looking for a basketball coach after Darian DeVries left to coach Indiana. DeVries and West Virginia narrowly missed the NCAA tournament, prompting the state’s attorney general to launch an “investigation” into the snub.