Social media content creators shadow a game official in the back of the end zone during first half action of the Southlake Carroll versus Allen. The two teams played their nondistrict football game at Southlake Carroll’s Dragon Stadium in Southlake on September 11, 2026.
Steve Hamm/The Dallas Morning News
As soon as South Oak Cliff’s Kenneth Young scored his team’s first touchdown against Richmond Randle in the opening week of the season, the videographers and photographers swooped in.
“Right here 5,” one videographer said, nearly stepping onto the field to coax Young, who wears the No. 5 for SOC, into gesturing or acknowledging the camera less than five feet away. But the senior running back casually jogged back to the sideline, ignoring the request.
Similar scenes are playing out in the end zones of any Texas high school football field on Friday nights: overeager content creators hoping to capture the emotional high of a big moment for to make their highlight cut of the game stand out. With personal phones able to act as high-quality cameras, the amount of devices trying to capture those moments has only increased, particularly at clashes between state powerhouses that warrant national attention, such as DeSoto vs. Duncanville.
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Unlike college facilities, a lot of area high school stadiums are built to comfortably fit only players, coaches and spirit squads on the sidelines. Add in college scouts, select family members, alumni, school district figures and media, and it can become chaotic. Now, with more independent media and individual creators, often hired by parents to produce images and video for social media, and it can turn into a circus.
The increase in independent media applying for field access has led two Dallas-area school districts, Mansfield and Midlothian ISDs, to start charging fees as a security measure and to keep the sidelines manageable, in addition to requiring background checks. It’s a practice more districts could consider to curtail the growing number of media requests from what the Arizona Interscholastic Association called the “pajama paparazzi,” according to a Front Office Sports story this month.
Midlothian and Mansfield ISDs admit crowded sidelines were a factor in levying the $150 individual game and $500 season fees for requests from what they deem “independent” or “non-credentialed” media. But the primary motivation, both districts said, was the desire to vet personnel not previously cleared by schools or an official media outlet.
“You’re seeing a lot more of these independent vloggers that are starting to show up on sidelines,” Mansfield athletic director Jerod Womack said. “I think it was more of just a safety and a control of exactly who’s coming down and getting that access.”
The Southlake Carroll bench personnel had a front row seat to witness the acrobatic catch Allen receiver Thomas Joyner lll (2) made along the sideline during first quarter action. A game official ruled Joyner did not come down in bounds. The two teams played their nondistrict football game at Southlake Carroll’s Dragon Stadium in Southlake on September 11, 2026.
Steve Hamm/The Dallas Morning News
Midlothian ISD athletic director Rusty Purser equated the move to the measures the district’s schools require to protect students.
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“If you were to come to Midlothian High School campus, you’re going to have to check in, get a temporary pass, all kinds of things. But here at our stadium and at our sporting events, you basically had free access to the field, to be around our kids, to do whatever, and so that was the biggest driving factor.”
Purser said the fee is in line with the district’s other protocols for commercial use for which school districts typically charge a fee.
“If somebody is utilizing our facilities or they’re gonna publicize any of our different events, they’re paying some type of fee,” Purser said. “And so that was just one of those avenues where people are making money.”
The rise of independent media
Midlothian ISD, which started the policy for Midlothian High’s season opener against Chisholm Trail, deems independent media as “independent, freelance or commercial photographers, videographers or writers who are not on assignment for an eligible news organization” or “individuals creating content for commercial sale, promotion or personal use.”
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Tarrance Johnson is an independent media reporter in the D-FW area who’s covered high school sports since 2012 and has been a commentator for Trophy Club Byron Nelson. He’s been fully independent since 2023 and said he doesn’t typically make money off of his coverage. Johnson, who hasn’t yet tried to cover a game at Midlothian ISD Stadium or Mansfield ISD’s Vernon Newsom and R.L. Anderson stadiums this season, said he understands districts needing to do their due diligence. But the policies can have an unintended effect on media types who aren’t in the viral content-creation space.
“We’re old school,” Johnson said. “We do interviews, we do clips. We’re not so, ‘Let me get this highlight posted and get a lot of views.’ We’re more like wanting to talk to the people.”
He said the relationships he’s built in the area ensure he’s able to verify his experience with athletic departments to obtain access. If he applies to cover a game at Mansfield or Midlothian this season, he intends to do the same, but approval is never a guarantee.
“If you don’t have 100,000 followers and you ain’t got this many views, you get denied on stuff,” Johnson said. “When really you’re putting out better quality and talk vs. just people who want to see action right now.”
Womack said independent media for visiting teams, or that are known to cover Mansfield programs, will be approved without having to pay the fee.
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So far, the only criticisms Purser has heard consistently in Midlothian are from smaller creators, such as recent graduates and new start-up creators and not more middle-level highlight videographers. Through the first three weeks of the season, he hadn’t seen a notable dip in media requests.
“I don’t know if that’s too low or too high,” Purser said of the fee amounts. “What I’m noticing is, we have not had a lot of complaints from the mid-stream type media person.”
Background checks required in some districts
The University Interscholastic League did not respond to a request for comment about the increased number of independent media requests in Texas, where individual districts handle them.
Arizona, which approves requests at the state level, is only the second state after North Carolina to require background checks for anyone seeking high school sideline credentials, according to Front Office Sports. The change reduced the number of credentials issued from roughly 1,300 to 800.
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Mansfield and Midlothian ISDs both require background checks for media applying for athletics credentials. Midlothian uses a Raptor software system onsite when you check in for games. Both districts said traditional outlets and credentialed media are welcome to cover events without paying the fee, but the background checks are universal.
“Any legitimate news channel, newspaper, outlet, that’s a different process,” Womack said. “They aren’t having to pay a fee. We’re welcoming them with open arms; we’ll give them access to the press box, sidelines.”
Both districts say the media policy will remain during the playoffs. Last season, Mansfield’s Vernon Newsom Stadium hosted the Class 6A Division II state semifinal between DeSoto and Southlake Carroll, and Midlothian is also a notable neutral site location.
Without specifying, Womack said he’s consulted with other school districts on the policy, how they’re doing it and what the returns have been. Purser says he hasn’t spoken with other districts but did tell the other programs in 8-5A Division I and 15-5A Division II, districts with Mansfield ISD schools, before implementing the policy.
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“Some of the smaller schools that we do compete against, it really hasn’t hit their doorstep yet as much as it has ours,” Purser said.