BEND — Following a report of inappropriate messages between an adult media member and teenage girls, the Oregon School Activities Association implemented an official media credential policy, when previously, there was not one in any official capacity.

The policy allows the high school governing body to decide who is eligible for press passes, and gives it the power to revoke passes when deemed “appropriate for unprofessional or inappropriate behavior.”

“Previously it was more of an informal process, as opposed to a formal codified policy,” Peter Weber, OSAA executive director, wrote in an email to The Bulletin. “We took the procedures from our informal process, added in specific language for revocation and access, and took to the board for formal adoption.”

The question surrounding the media credential policy arose after Grant Magazine, published “Cost of Coverage,” a story highlighting the conduct of Eric Watkins, the owner of the Elite Oregon Girls website.

The story written in the monthly magazine by three Grant High students — Claire Coffey, Ava Siano and Veronica Bianco — detailed Watkins’ inappropriate conduct toward high school students by way of his popular sports platform dedicated to exclusively covering girls high school sports in Oregon.

Between Instagram and Twitter, Elite Oregon Girls had a following of over 10,000.

Coffey, Siano and Bianco received screen shots of direct messages between Watkins and five girls that could be deemed too personal for an exchange between a member of the media and high-school aged girls.

Paula Hicks, who had two daughters in the Bend High volleyball program in fall of 2021, remembers an uncomfortable encounter with Watkins at a volleyball match in Salem.

Watkins was seen hanging around and asking questions to members of the Lava Bears’ freshman volleyball team outside of the team’s locker room, Hicks said. It left observers feeling uneasy about the interaction, she said.

“My daughter doesn’t remember the conversation,” Hicks said in an email to The Bulletin. “She just remembers that he kept asking questions/talking to keep the conversation going. She and another outspoken teammate said come on guys we need to go, creating an excuse to get the team out of there.”

In Watkins’ write up on the Lava Bears following the match, there was no mention of the freshman games, only the varsity games.

A few months later, in May of 2022, the Salem-Keizer school district banned Watkins from all the school properties. OSAA was in communication with the Salem-Keizer district, regarding the concerns it had with Watkins and the inappropriate messages between a man in his late 20s and teenage girls.

But because no formal press-pass policy was in place, Watkins was able to attend games anywhere else in the state with his OSAA issued press pass.

“At that time we consulted with our legal counsel and reached out to state associations in 11 western states to inquire about their media credentialing policies, as OSAA did not have a formal credentialing policy,” Weber wrote. “Once we gathered and reviewed the information from the other states, along with input from legal counsel, OSAA staff drafted a new board policy and took that to our Board for adoption.”

At the OSAA executive board’s work session this past Sunday, the board told Watkins his press pass had been revoked. He will no longer be able to attend high school games in Oregon as a credentialed media person.

On Dec. 5, Watkins announced on his website that he would stop running Elite Oregon Girls, citing that he was feeling undervalued, while being physically and mentally drained.

Watkins told The Bulletin on Tuesday that he was unaware of the OSAA policy and could not comment about it. But he cited a comment he made to Willamette Week about his work with Elite Oregon Girls:

“Nothing has tarnished my legacy or work with Elite Oregon Girls, and I never had any expectation of personal benefit for my work,” Watkins is quoted as saying. “All of these things boil down to individual interpretation, and there’s nothing that I regret. It was done out of heart and passion for the work that I accomplished.”

Watkins has since pivoted from running Elite Oregon Girls, to a new platform called Empowerment Sports Media, a similar all-female sports coverage destination focusing on junior college sports in Ohio.