End of forums – Embracing Instagram

By Raman Khinda

Regardless of whether or not athletes use online forums, they are becoming increasingly active in social media and it’s no longer only Facebook and Twitter. Athletes and also NBA teams are posting pictures of their daily lives and routines on Instagram. Pro basketball players like to flash what they have. From their sneakers to jerseys, players like to display what they have and Instagram is a great tool.

Instagram is a great tool for fans to follow certain high profile athletes and it gives them an essence to the day in the life of what they do. The NBA is full of many players with different personalities on and off the basketball court. The league’s most popular players can display themselves to their fans and followers with updated pictures of what they are doing whether it would be training, practicing, on court pregame, post-game and deep into their personal lives. It gives their followers a sense of being in close relations to them and pictures posted can generate comments by fans.

Here are some athletes to follow on Instagram according to their flashy pictures posted.

1.       Chris Bosh #chrisbosh

He has 506, 790 followers and loves to post pics of sneakers and other basketball gear. He is a two time champion with the Miami Heat that also has a unique fashion sense.

2.       JR Smith #teamswish

With 605,293 followers, JR loves posting shots of the New York Knicks locker room as well as his sneaker collection.

3.       Chris Paul #cp3

Chris has 1.2 million followers and has one Instagram picture of shoes being delivered to his home by the truckload.

4.       Lebron James #kingjames

Lebron loves to be in the spotlight. With 4 million plus followers, he loves to post pics of his sneakers especially his signature line of his own exclusive collection.

Gandu, G. S. (2013, November 18). The 12 best NBA players to follow on Instagram. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from Sneaker Report: http://sneakerreport.com/features/best-nba-players-instagram/10

The Social Athlete Bandwagon- Advice to Athletes on How to use Social Media Responsibly

By Jessica Cruz

Social media is a tool not a toy- as an athlete you must use social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook as a tool to improve your personal brand. Use it to communicate with fans. Bring positivity to your fans because they appreciate those things.

If you share/ retweet it, you own it as well- whatever tweet or post you share/retweet, it will be posted on your profile and essentially will reflect you. It is irrational that many athletes believe that even though it is not their tweet or post, it won’t hurt them. 

Have fun responsibly- post/tweet things that show a positive side of you. Whether it is personal photos of you with some fans or with your pets it shows your fans that you’re not just an athlete.

There is an article from a website called Basketball For Coaches which gives the do’s and don’ts of social media for basketball players. Although this article focuses on basketball players, these tips are very helpful for any athlete. Here is the link: http://www.basketballforcoaches.com/dos-and-donts-of-social-media/

The Social Athlete Bandwagon- Top 5 Athletes on Social Media

By Jessica Cruz

Based on athletes active on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook this is the top 5 athletes on social media

1. Cristiano Ronaldo 

With 25.1 million Twitter followers, 4.1 million Instagram followers and 76.4 million likes on his Facebook page, the Real Madrid forward has dominated the social media world. Ronaldo connects with his fans by answering their questions, thanking his fans for their support and promoting his brand such as his new mobile game, Cristiano Ronaldo Footy. 

2. Kaká

The Brazilian midfielder, has earned himself 18.4 million Twitter followers, 1.5 million Instagram followers and 26.7 million likes on his Facebook page. With photos of him practicing, Kaká gives his fans a chance to see his progress with the team without actually being there.

3. LeBron James

LeBron James has built himself a brand on social media. With 12.2 million twitter followers, 5.2 million Instagram followers and 17.2 million likes on his Facebook page, the Miami Heat superstar has made his way through social media to connect with his fans. Lately on social media, LeBron has been promoting his charity called LeBron James Family Foundation.

4. Neymar Júnior

FC Barcelona forward/winger currently has 10.1 million Twitter followers, 4.2 million Instagram followers and 18.7 million likes on his Facebook page and growing. Although his tweets and posts are mostly in Portuguese, Neymar shares photos and interacts with his fans though contests and updates on his playing condition.  

 5. Kobe Bryant

This NBA superstar has had 4.5 million followers since joining Twitter last year on January. Bryant has also 2.2 million Instagram followers and 18.4 million likes on his Facebook page. Kobe Bryant has been using social media to promote his latest product, BodyAmor SuperDrink. Online, He is known for sharing personal photos, being honest and sharing his thoughts on just about everything. 

The Social Athlete Bandwagon- Should Coaches ban their players from using social media?

By Jessica Cruz

If you ask NCAA Louisville coach, Rick Pitino, social media poisons the minds of athletes. This was the reason why he banned his players from using Twitter. In fact, many other coaches have banned their players from using social media such as Washington State Football coach Mike Leach. To justify their decision, they say it is dangerous and a distraction to the players. 

 Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL0AHOgv3TI

Many athletes on social media tend to tweet things that shouldn’t have been posted. People make mistakes and coaches need to find alternative decisions on how to prevent it from happening again. Banning their players shouldn’t be the only option.  This is what Kentucky Wildcats coach, John Calipari emphasized. Calipari explains that coaches must educate their players on how to use social media and use it as a positive. 

"We as parents and teachers, we want our children, we want our players to communicate, to articulate a message, to get in front of a human resources person and articulate their passion for wanting a job" –John Calipari 

Social media should be used as an opportunity to express your opinions and feelings, to try to be positive, to try to let people see you for who you are. Athletes must understand that they cannot be defined by people on social media.  They must define themselves and hopefully it will be positive.   

Here is a link to a web page that asks a group of sport communication scholars on their view of coaches banning players from using social media:  http://scralliance.com/2013/08/20/scra-roundtable-college-athletics-and-social-media/#more-128

Ramos, Ronnie (2014). Ramos: Instead of banning Twitter, educate college athletes in using social media. Retrieved from http://sportsjournalism.org/sports-media-news/instead-of-banning-twitter-educate-college-athletes-in-using-social-media/