Sports in the context of social media law

Social media has emerged as an essential communications format among players, teams, leagues, fans, and consumers. Social media has fewer control points than traditional broadcast or print media, so players are better able to engage directly with their fans. The new relationship between athletes and the public, however, may conflict with some of the current exclusive agreements between leagues and broadcasters. Moreover, this immediacy eliminates the ability of teams and leagues to manage player communications, and thus it imposes additional responsibility on the athlete in regard to unauthorized or undisclosed commercial endorsements and to avoid defamatory, racist, or other harmful communications.