Not all signs are allowed on ESPN's College GameDay at IU. Why not?

One of the hallmarks of ESPN's College GameDay each weekend is the chippy, funny and outrageous handmade signs fans bring to the tailgate that are visible throughout the broadcast. However, not all signs are welcome on TV.This weekend, the popular pregame show is headed to Indiana University and will host its show in the heart of campus at the Showalter Fountain. On its panel are sports personalities including former Colts punter Pat McAfee, former University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban and analyst Kirk Herbstreit. Indiana basketball legend Isiah Thomas will predict college football games as the guest picker.Recently, the show's longstanding sign policies have been questioned for excluding certain messages. According to its policies, signs cannot be vulgar, religious or political. They also cannot include the URL of a website. Oversized signs and ones connected to poles are also not allowed.All fans' signs are inspected before they can enter the broadcast's taping area, and those violating the rules will be removed. To get in, fans often arrive on campus in the early morning hours and line up outside the set. ESPN staff let fans in on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, your chippy sign is not protected under the First Amendment if you're trying to be on TV. Though IU must abide by the First Amendment as a public university, ESPN's filming area is a private event, not a public forum, and the network has near-total editorial control over the space, according to a Freedom Forum analysis. The restrictions must be reasonable and viewpoint neutral, which the First Amendment education organization said ESPN's rules are."The First Amendment is getting momentarily benched," First Amendment Specialist Alex Morey of Freedom Forum wrote.The university does need to maintain adequate space for First Amendment-protected activity elsewhere. Outside the filming area, a vulgar, religious or political sign is usually fair game and protected speech.When the GameDay broadcast visited Bloomington in the past, signs said "Nebraska's playbook is just a corn maze," "Hoosier Daddy," and "Wannabe Big (Ten) school."Some signs featured on GameDay over the years have generated controversy, including a raunchy sign at the University of Southern California, another referencing the Trail of Tears at Oklahoma State University, and one making light of former Ohio State University coach Urban Meyer’s health issues. The broadcast often attends the most anticipated games, and the network announces its next destination the Sunday prior. The team could return to Indiana next week for the top-five matchup between the University of Miami and the University of Notre Dame. The two teams have a history that could test ESPN's sign-making rules. At a 1988 game that some sportswriters consider one of the greatest college football games ever, Notre Dame students showed up wearing controversial T-shirts that dubbed the rivalry "Catholics vs. Convicts," which later became in-part the focus of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary. The shirts allude to the arrests of multiple Miami football players and have long been criticized as racially charged. Cate Charron’s role covering First Amendment issues at IndyStar is made possible by a collaboration among Freedom Forum, Journalism Funding Partners and the USA TODAY Network. Freedom Forum does not provide editorial input.Have a tip, question or story to tell? Reach Cate at ccharron@indystar.com, @CateCharron on X or @catecharron.28 on Signal.This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Not all signs are allowed on ESPN's College GameDay at IU. Why not?