How free is our speech? Everyone loves to preach the first amendment when push comes to shove, but like any right, it obviously isn’t absolute. You can’t use your speech to threaten or harass people and certain institutions can restrict your speech more than others. Social media platforms, for example, have detailed terms of service that don’t guarantee an absolute freedom of speech. These issues come to head every once in a while in which the public is conflicted as to how free our speech should be. Former president Donald Trump was recently booted from most social media platforms for spreading misinformation, many conservatives thought this to be a blatant violation of his first amendment rights, whereas others argued that since these platforms are private companies, they should be free to exercise their rules however they please. 

This issue becomes especially tricky when it comes to the freedom of students at schools. The famous Tinker v Des Moines case determined that both students and teachers do not have to shed their first amendment rights and the schoolhouse doors. The principles of this case have been put to the test numerous times but with the advent of social media, the issue has become even more confused. Do schools have the right to enforce their rules off campus? If not, how do they handle issues like cyberbullying. The general consensus is that if it impedes the environment at school, the school is allowed to police it, but even that just feels so arbitrary. Recently, the supreme court brought on the case of Brandi Levy, a cheerleader who didn’t make varsity cheer and then decided to post negative comments about the team using curse words. Levy was removed from the team for these posts and she decided it was a violation of her free speech. No matter what the context, no one is entitled to be on a sports team. When coaches hold try-outs, they don’t solely look for athletic skill, but also effort and attitude. Players don’t make teams all the time. If the coaches were concerned that Levy’s post would create a disruption at practice and events, they should be under no obligation to keep her on the roster.

This isn’t a free speech issue. This may signify a need for policy change in the schools to make teams more independent from the administration, but sports are extra-curricular, they shouldn’t be under any obligation to keep players on their roster if they have a fair reason to kick them off. All that being said, when it comes strictly to school administration disciplining students, there will always be the need for flexibility. Schools should air on the side of leaving social media be, but  there will always be situations where it is necessary for the school to intervene.