How We Cover High School Athletes

Most of the players in the games we write about are children. That changes what we are willing to publish.

No photographs of identifiable minors

We do not publish photographs of identifiable high school players. Not sourced, not licensed, not generated to resemble a real player. Where a page needs an image, we use a diagram, a schematic play frame, or a scoreboard-style graphic.

This costs us something. Image-led feeds reward faces, and we are choosing to compete without them. We think a diagram that shows the play accurately is worth more to a reader than a photograph anyway — and it is worth more than the alternative.

Naming

We name a school-age player when the fact of them being named is the story — a result, a record, a commitment, a selection. We do not name a minor as the subject of a mistake. A play can be broken down completely without identifying the sixteen-year-old who lost the ball.

In film and rules breakdowns involving school-age players, jerseys and identifying detail are described generically: “the offensive player”, not a name and number.

Officiating criticism

We analyse calls, including wrong ones. We do so on the rule and the mechanic — where the official was, what they could see, what the rule required. We do not name a high school official as the subject of criticism, and we do not host pile-ons. High school officiating is done for very little money by people who are needed.

Removal requests

A player, a parent or guardian, a school or an official can ask us to remove or de-identify material about a school-age person. Ask via the contact page. We do not require a legal basis and we do not argue the point.