A managing editor for an independent student newspaper was excluded from a pre-season interview session with University of Kentucky basketball players because in his capacity as a journalist he telephoned two of them without the green light from the media relations department, the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper reported on 31 August.

The case has drawn attention to the increasingly-powerful public relations teams that oversee the flow of college sports information, apparently to the detriment of free reporting.

Reporter Aaron Smith – who manages and covers sports for the Kentucky Kernel, the University of Kentucky’s student newspaper – telephoned two of the university’s walk-on basketball players using mobile numbers freely available in the school directory to confirm Internet rumours that they had joined the team. Upon receiving confirmation, he requested an interview, which both players turned down.

However, because no announcement had been made by the university about the walk-ons, the newspaper was then denied access to a one-on-one interview session with members of the team.

A lawyer who represents the Kentucky Press Association has since claimed that First Amendment rights have been disregarded, the Courier-Journal reported.

DeWayne Peevy, director of the basketball team’s media relations department, interpreted Smith’s reporting as a contravention of one of the department’s media policies, which according to a handbook provided to the university’s media states: “All interviews with University of Kentucky basketball players or staff members must be arranged through the Media Relations office. Media should never contact a player or coach directly.”

The Courier-Journal quoted Peevy as saying: “We’re trying to protect our student-athletes, let them be students and let them have times where they can’t be interviewed.” He said Smith should not have pressed for the interviews.

IPI Director Alison bethel McKenzie said: “What about protecting press freedom? Just because a newspaper is run by student journalists does not mean that its reporters should not benefit from the fundamental rights afforded journalists in any healthy democracy. If a celebrity or athlete is in public space and is confronted by media, well, welcome to the real world. Media – whether at university or on a professional level – should not be prevented from doing its job, nor should it be limited to the whims of a gatekeeper when seeking the truth. The university should rethink its stance on the issue and immediately grant the newspaper a one-on-one interview session with the basketball team.”

Kernel editor Taylor Moak said she did not believe that Smith was out of line, according to the Courier-Journal.

“Any good journalist is going to ask for more information from their source,” she said. “Our position is that, as journalists, we can call whomever we need to. UK has these guidelines that are written, but you never have to sign anything. They’re guidelines, but just that.

“They’re not going to drive what’s in our paper.”

The student newspaper has since received broad support from state and national media.