Friday, March 7, 2025

Texas A&M Revises Baseball Media Policy After Backlash

Debates around media access to college athletes are common, with some athletic departments providing extensive access, while others limit interviews based on various factors, such as player status. An unusual instance emerged recently when the Texas A&M Aggies baseball team reportedly had a policy stating that “players won’t be available after losses.” Sam Khan Jr. from The Athletic highlighted this on Twitter:

The A&M baseball media policies website has since updated to remove the line stating that “players will not be available following a loss.” It remains unclear how long this policy was in effect or if it originated from head coach Michael Earley or the athletic department. Currently ranked No. 1, the team won its first two games this year and held some player interviews following those victories, making it unclear if this policy had ever been enforced. One response to Khan noted that Texas’ baseball team, under former Aggies’ coach Jim Schlossnagle, does not have a similar policy:

Khan shared interesting insights aligning this policy with a trend he has observed at A&M, noting they are offering less media access compared to their counterparts in other sports like football:

The debates around access in various college sports are extensive. While only allowing player interviews after wins is less restrictive than never providing access, having a policy that permits interviews only at positive moments is peculiar. This policy faced criticism and was subsequently removed from the website, although it remains to be seen how many (if any) A&M players will actually be interviewed following losses.

Popular posts