The Pitfalls of Social Media

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Life has changed a lot since Super League started in 1996. The internet has changed our lives so much. In the early days of Super League, if you were at a match on a Sunday afternoon, you would have to wait to go home and look at Ceefax for the other results, rather than have them at your fingertips on a smartphone.

The internet connects us all and gives us access to as much as information as we can process. Probably too much information. It also gives us the chance to express our opinion almost as quickly as we can think it. The audience that will see our comments have expanded far beyond the person who you sit next to at a stadium, or your family / friends in your living room.

In some ways, this is great. You can connect to far more people but the sight of constantly looking at your phone rather than the people who are actually proximate to you is one of the more depressing realities of the 21st century, in the view of this old fart anyway.

The Good

Social media can be a power for good, in the context of our sport. It shines a spotlight on the selfless nature of our players who give up their time to help people in their local communities, who assist with charity fundraising or otherwise use their profile to make a positive difference in people's lives.

It also allows a direct line of communication between player and fan, the likes of which we haven't seen before. This can lead to some scarcely believable interactions, such as this one between Sitaleki Akauola and a critical Warrington fan in 2020!

The Bad

We have seen players in other sports suspended for writing tweets including homophobic and racist language, from when they were children. I'll spare my opinions on this point in the main, apart from to say a couple of things. 

I anticipate that a lot of Rugby League players were frantically deleting historic tweets when these stories started hitting the press and I am glad that when I was growing up, that there wasn't a paper trail of some of the things that I would have said. I don't think they would have been homophobic and racist remarks, but I think most people would have said something in years gone by that they wouldn't want their employer or mum to see! 

And that's before you get on to the hate-filled speech that high-profile individuals get on a daily basis. The abuse suffered by England footballers after the Euro 2020 final and spectacle of misogynistic abuse everytime there is any reference to women's sport come to mind. Thankfully, this is less common in rugby league than other sports. 

The Pitfalls

Social media is a minefield. In one respect, players can't win. I can't be the only one who rolls my eyes at the weekly 'yeah the boys' or 'fans were unreal' tweets. It feels a touch sanitised. Again, not to the extent of football players whose each tweet is controlled by their 'team'. 

This can lead to some quite amusing consequences, such as when Manchester United player Bruno Fernandes tweeted an image with the caption 'good vibes' containing an image of Arsenal players. Of course, this tweet wasn't from him. It was from his 'team' who manage his social media profile. Clearly, they also manage an Arsenal player's Twitter account and were logged into the wrong one!

And that's before you get to arguably the most hilarious football tweet of all time...


What's this got to do with Rugby League?

Ok, I'll get to the point! This year, I have noticed that the stars of our sport (who for better or worse clearly control their own Twitter accounts) have become a lot more opinionated. You may have seen Josh Charnley exacerbated at his recent suspension or Connor Wynne implicitly accuse Jack Welsby of cheating (before swiftly deleting), as just two examples. It's a little edgy, possibly foolish. But, I cannot on the one hand roll my eyes at cliched tweets and then criticise when the players actually say what they think.

On the other hand, players do have responsibilities. We have a huge problem in this sport (as do many sports) with referee abuse. Players leading the charge in that respect is not good at all. There was an outcry from many players this week at Mahe Fonua's incorrect yellow card for a fractionally late hit on Jai Field, which led to the following tweets from Huddersfield players Chris Hill and Chris McQueen.

Let's take Chris McQueen's tweet specifically. He describes the sport as 'a joke'. This is the same sport that he has played professionally since 2009 and has paid him a salary for the majority of his adult life. Now let's look at the last tweet he sent, prior to the above one. It was a retweet from his club, Huddersfield Giants.

It uses the tagline 'Nothing Beats Being There' and uses Chris McQueen as the poster boy. Compare the use of language. 'Nothing Beats Being There'. 'This game has become a joke'. Chris McQueen is, of course, welcome to express whatever opinion he wishes. The opinion that the sport has become a joke is a legitimate one to hold. But those two statements are the precise opposite of each other. He cannot feasibly believe both to be true. If he believes that the game is a joke, then anything would beat being there. 

For years, Huddersfield have struggled with attendances. On occasions, they have flung the doors open, charging nothing for admission and have not broken the 10,000 barrier. That shows that around 9,000 or 10,000 is about the ceiling for rugby league crowds in the town.

In 2022, Huddersfield have made huge efforts to increase their crowds. They have offered cheap season tickets, they have taken out large adverts in local newspapers, they have put on pre-match entertainment, food festivals and live music. They have offered members the chance to bring friends for a discounted rate. They have made huge investments in the playing squad and brought in highly rated coaches and conditioning staff. After a so-so 2021, they are performing well in 2022. They can do little else to bring in the fans.

And they have seen some reward, in the form of improved on field performances and modest increases in attendances. But when two of your star players are lampooning the sport and one of them describing it as a joke, then perhaps its no wonder than Huddersfield's crowds are not increasing. I am not for stifling debate but the reality is than words matter and have consequences. I cannot think of another sport where its players have engaged in actively discouraging new fans.

For example, the views of former Huddersfield player Eorl Crabtree seem to me to be a lot more sensibly expressed (whether or not you agree with the contents).

The purpose of this is not to try and silence players. I don't like them being robotic and therefore perhaps it is even hypocritical to criticise them when they do express their views.

However, when applying for any job in the 21st century, most employers will take a cursory glance at a prospective employees social media and there will be clauses in most contracts about not posting inflammatory messages or those with the potential to cause damage to your employer.

Rugby League players need to tread carefully. If too much people listen to the likes of Chris McQueen, then the money of the fans that ultimately pays his salary, may stop coming into the game. And if that were to happen, then nobody wins. Maybe the much-fabled players union is a better forum for expressing such views, but what do I know?

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