We’ll all remember where we were the night of May 1, 2011, when President Barrack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been captured and killed.
I was eating dinner at home with my girlfriend. We sat, glued to the TV, and talked about how that moment felt like one of those scenes in a movie where an entire nation, and many parts of the world, was united, hanging on every word of a news broadcast.
But the TV screen wasn’t the only source of news and commentary for us. That night, like so many other nights in the past few years, laptops and mobile phones were positioned on dining room tables so we could see the latest from our Facebook friends, refresh our Twitter searches and send text and instant messages as the events unfolded.
And while many people celebrated, others found the celebrations to be inappropriate. One person of the latter group’s persuasion was Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall. He voiced his feelings on a personal Twitter account:
“What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side…”
and
“We’ll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take down a skyscraper demolition style.”*
In the hours that followed, the media latched on to these controversial (and arguably insensitive) statements and Mendenhall soon found himself at the center of a PR crisis. His employer issued a statement, distancing the franchise from the player and a sponsor canceled an endorsement contract.
Mendenhall has issued an apology and deleted the tweet that implied there may have been outside factors that played a role in the World Trade Center’s collapse. But the damage had been done.
Now, obviously this isn’t the first time a public figure has suffered negative consequences as a result of social media use. But what alarms me is that this issue led some to argue that athletes should be banned from using social media to prevent this from happening again.
Social media is not the issue here. A public figure’s irresponsible use of social media is.
And it’s disappointing to see these stories continue to focus on the publishing medium rather than the producer of the content. For some reason (maybe because social media is still so bright and shiny) we continue to blame the messenger (Twitter) and not the sender (Mendenhall).
Do you really think that banning players from using Twitter is going to solve the problem of athletes inadvertently casting a negative light on the franchise?
A: There’s no way to enforce it. B: Celebrities have been acting irresponsibly way before Twitter came along. So if these bad apples don’t get in trouble for being stupid on Twitter, they’re probably going to get in trouble for being stupid somewhere else. Deal with it.
Why don’t we see headlines about Steve Nash, Grant Hill or Jared Dudley getting in trouble on Twitter? Because they generally stay out of trouble off of Twitter too. And they probably think before they tweet and understand the weight that every one of their public messages carries.
If franchises are so concerned with image, they need to address the real issues at hand: character, education and accountability. Choose personnel wisely, train staff to handle the ever-expanding public spotlight and drive home the importance of self-censorship and thinking about the reactions your messages may cause.
Of course, professional athletes aren’t saints (well, maybe one was) so these issues aren’t ever going to go away. Just like Twitter (and all that it represents) isn’t going to go away.
So instead of giving up and trying to avoid burns by smothering social media, teach safety, plan ahead and steer the flames so that the social media blaze works in your favor and casts the right light.
*I have not seen this second quote posted on Twitter, as it was deleted by the user. I found the text on various websites, including ESPN.com.
This article by LZ Granderson on ESPN.com echoes much of my sentiment (or maybe I echo much of his) in greater depth and detail.
Nice work Adam. I personally would encourage people with something significant to lose (i.e. Mendenhall; read: money) to refrain from using social media or other means of communication that encourage this type of in the moment, emotional usage. It’s true that there are many celebrities who use Twitter responsibly, but as long as they continue to use it, I believe its only a matter of time before something regrettable is said, regardless of the character of the individual human.
@JoHo – Thank you, my friend.
Yeah, slip-ups happen and I agree that celebs do have more to lose than your average tweeter. But my point is that cutting off these channels isn’t going to make these risks go away. I think it’s an ineffective way of addressing the real problem, which is that many superstars don’t treat social media with the respect and restraint that it deserves. They need to realize that their tweets carry just as much weight as their statements in press conferences, public events and interviews. Either way, I think this debate will continue as long as social media is still relatively novel.