Basic HTML Version
Touchline • Issue 17 • 33
There is no doubt that social media is changing the world. One needs to look no
further than the Arab Spring in 2010, where social media, and Twitter in particular,
were used with great effect to organise protests. However, in all corners of the
world, social media continues to change our daily lives in all sorts of ways, from
how we consume news and media, how companies market themselves and the way
we find employment.
Sport is no different. Social media has had a huge effect on sport around the world,
with the public, athletes and sporting organisations enjoying the many benefits.
Through social media, fans can communicate directly with their heroes, which
would be simply impossible years ago without standing outside training sessions
hoping for a glimpse of the star. The ability to chat directly with any famous person
is exciting, and the nature of online communication gives fans a chance to see the
personable side of athletes.
This gives athletes the opportunity to present (and market) themselves in any way
they see fit; from wanting to appear as a ‘normal’ person living an average life, to
flaunting their excess-filled lifestyle. Either way, if an athlete can make themselves
appear more personable or more entertaining to the fans it will make them more
popular.
Sporting organisations also benefit from social media. YouTube has given sporting
clubs the opprtunity to give fans behind the scenes access including interviews with
players and filming ‘secret’ team meetings. There is of course the financial benefits
that this provides. Using social media as part of a marketing strategy, athletes and
organisations are able to reach fans outside the stadium, giving them opportunities
to promote their sport and to advertise ticket sales and merchandise.
However with these benefits comes risks. There are countless examples where an
athlete has used social media to share their thoughts on officials of their sport,
to sharing their opinion of their colleagues or simply sharing their thoughts on a
topical issue in the media. All of these instances require, at least, a considered and
delicate approach, and perhaps restraint from commenting on these issues in the
first place. Unfortunately athletes often lack the foresight to see the full effect a
post on Twitter or Facebook may have and often land themselves in hot water.
The consequences of making such an error varies anywhere from turning some fans
against the athlete, to the loss of sponsorship, fines and creating adverse headlines.
There are no certainties in this world, and in an evermore interconnected world,
athletes and sporting organisations must be sure that social media is working for
them, not against them.
The dangerous thing about Twitter is that it
allows us to say the first thing that comes
to mind. Here are just some of the more
controversial tweets by athletes (selected
from a long, long list).
Rio Ferdinand
Ferdinand was fined £45,000 by the FA for
improper conduct for his infamous ‘choc-ice’
re-tweet of a post by another Twitter user,
which said, “Looks like Ashley Cole’s going
to be their choc ice. Then again he’s always
been a sell out.” This tweet was aimed at
Cole for giving evidence on behalf of John
Terry in a racial abuse trial involving Rio’s
brother Anton. The derogatory slang term is
used to describe someone who is ‘black on
the outside but white on the inside’ .
Stephanie Rice
The Australian swimmer and triple Olympic
gold medal winner tweeted after the
Wallabies win over South Africa in the Tri
Nations: “Suck on that faggots!”. Rice had to
defend herself that she was not homophobic,
and lost sponsorship deals as a result of the
tweet.
Mark Allen
Snooker player Allen tweeted a series of
outbursts about China causing controvery.
Tweets included: ‘Journey a nightmare.
People are ignorant. Place stinks. Arena’s
rubbish, tables poor, food is horrendous.
Other than that I love China.” That tweet was
later removed, and replaced with one saying:
“Might’ve been a bit harsh a few hours ago
in my tweet. Not all Chinese people are
ignorant. I stand by everything else though.”
Jack Wilshere
Wilshere got into trouble when he tweeted
‘Frimpong to score “worth a cheeky £10”’.
Despite not actually placing a bet, it led to
a telling off from UEFA as it breached strict
betting rules.
TWITTER REGRET
HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS
CHANGING SPORT