by Jessica Cruz
With the emergence of social media as a popular communication tool, it has given athletes new opportunities to engage with their fans. Things tend to work in a few different ways when it comes to athletes and social media. On one hand, social media provides athletes the opportunity to interact with their fans. Fans can now become close with their favorite athletes in many possible ways. A retweet on Twitter can be the next autograph without having to be physically there. A mention or shout out on Facebook can make any fans day. This has given fans a real one-on-one experience with the athletes, especially for those who live in different countries. An athlete such as NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal is an example of an athlete who uses social media for the benefit of his fans. With more than 8 million followers on twitter, Shaquille has been giving clues to where he put autographed sneakers or game tickets for his fans to find.
However, using social media has its challenges. Not only does
social media allow athletes to communicate with fans, it also allows them to
express their opinions. And sometimes those opinions are not taken so lightly. Social
media has brought athletes in a controversial spotlight. After NBA player Jason
Collins came out as homosexual the reaction people were mainly positive, but
for Miami Dolphins’ Mike Wallace he was less supportive of the NBA star.
Wallace sent out a tweet on his reaction.
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| Image from www.complexmag.ca |
His tweet sparked controversial attention by what many
people were saying that his tweet was homophobic. Wallace later deleted his
tweet and explained in a tweet, “I’m not bashing anybody don’t have anything
against anyone I just don’t understand it.” And added, “Never said anything was
right or wrong I just said I don’t understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I
offended.”
Controversial tweets like Mike Wallace’s brings up an important lesson into why athletes should be careful of what they post because it will reflect their image not only out in public but also when they are out on the field, ice rink or basketball court.
Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://sports.yahoo.com/news/twitter-2012--how-athletes-have -used-social-media-to-become-the-media-164755022.html
Hahn, J. Duaine (2013). The most controversial athletes on twitter.
Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://www.complexmag.ca/tech/2013/05/the-most-controversial-athletes-on-twitter/mike-wallace
Pickering, Ben (2013). Athletes and social media: untapped
goldmine or PR landmine?. Retrieved February 28, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-pickering/athletes-and-social-media_b_3082184.html
This reminded me of when Drake tweeted about his Rolling Stones cover going to the passing of Philip Seymour Hoffman. He said he was done with interviews with magazines and was disgusted with the press. He even misspelled the actor’s first name. Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York City apartment with a needle in his arm and dozens of packets of heroin were found nearby. It was relevant that the actor had faced struggles with addiction during his life. The tragic nature of his death made Drake’s complaints insensitive. Thus creating a number of tweets directed to the rapper calling him childish, whiny, egotistical and even pathetic. He later deleted his tweets and apologized for his actions.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think it’s amusing when I see any form of celebrity if it’s an athlete or a rapper when they form their opinion on social media. Saying your opinion on social media is definitely something I encourage as it gives small users like the common folk a voice, but in a tasteful and respectful manner. Criticizing someone else for being gay or disrespecting someone’s death isn’t the smartest idea, especially being in the public eye. Being smart of your opinions is definitely something happens a lot on social media, and it definitely does not need to be repeated in the future. Any user on social media needs to understand that merely just deleting a post, a tweet, or a picture doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s permanently gone forever. This article explains the true meaning of “deleting” on Facebook: http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/deleting-facebook-posts-fail/#!CtbGE