Playing Safety on Social Media For Athletes

Players’ use of social media is watched like a hawk by just about everyone.

Whether you’re still in college, competing to break into professional football or already playing in the NFL, each and every way that you interact with the online community will be broken down and analyzed as if your profile(s) contain the cure for cancer.

Take, for example, Jadeveon Clowney’s Instagram controversy of November 2014. At that point in the season, the rookie had only played in two games. At first, because of surgery, but also due to a minor uproar caused by the flu. His team, the Texans were playing the Eagles – all he had to do was watch the game, the Houston Chronicle noted. Using it as an opportunity for film study rather than mere entertainment would’ve been a plus, of course, but all the same, his responsibility that day was to absorb the action between his team and Philadelphia’s that Sunday.

When he liked a photo of a woman on Instagram during the early moments of the game, the media beast was awoken. People were riled up, claiming he should have been watching the game rather than looking at women’s accounts on social media. He should’ve been focusing harder, that’s for sure, but taking a second out of the game to like an Instagram photo does not equate to drug use or drunk driving.

Still, even the smallest details will get picked up by the media and toted as a sign or storyline and thus, you should monitor your social media use appropriately. The NFL and NCAA are organizations with reputations to maintain much like a Fortune 500 business. As an employee of the company, you have to avoid controversies, no matter how inconsequential they may be because if the issues are consistent, your reputation will sink. Even worse, some slip-ups, even by your friends, could lead to other implications.

Here are a few tips for keeping your social networks under control:

1. Always respond professionally, and not always online

You do not have to immediately defend yourself nor respond to online criticisms or attacks. They will come as you are playing a sport on a professional level and hopefully you are successful at it. These attacks are part of it just as much as the praise, so don’t let yourself get the feeling that you need to ignite a social media war in response to online critics. Instead, be courteous and professional in your response and try to move the discussion offline as quickly as possible, Forbes recommends.

Generally, large companies like to preach how the customer is always right and in this case, the customer is the person who watches you every week. He or she may be completely wrong, but that’s not the point – even when the discussion moves off of social media, be sure to keep it civil, because it could go right back online if you let the wrong words slip.

2. Carefully control every aspect of your online presence

You’ll have to be careful about the friends you add, what you post, what they post and everything in between to avoid controversy. Don’t allow controversial photos of yourself to surface and generally maintain professionalism throughout your social networks. A photo of you doing, or appearing to do, something controversial could sink you in the draft because of the media firestorm alone, whether or not you actually did anything wrong. Due to this reality, you’ll have to be very thorough in maintaining a professional look to your social media accounts. Look at the guys in the NFL who run their social networks with their reputation in mind such as Russell Wilson, for example.

3. Don’t be secretive…stay approachable

Regardless of professionalism, you’re still allowed to have some personality on social media. Engaging with fans in a positive manner will keep up your reputation as a good guy: someone who the fans like and teammates get along with.

Also, avoid having to delete anything you post, since this will make it appear as though you have something to hide. You’ll have to find some sort of balance between open approachability and professional integrity which isn’t always easy, but possible nonetheless.

A social media dust up can turn into quite a debacle for athletes with professional aspirations.

Staying in control of your online presence is extremely important if you fit into this category. If you’re still unsure about how to handle social media and avoid controversy, seek advice from coaches, players or family. If you have contacts within the NFL, such as friends who were drafted, a sports agent whom you’ve been in contact with or even those within NCAA boundaries, ask them for some help as well.