By Carina Dagotto, Alexia Jackson, Carl Fisher, Trent Broadnax, Miguel Ramirez
Introduction
In many ways, social media has provided the sporting world with new opportunities for fan-player connections, provided a mechanism for sharing news, and created a more coupled community. However, social media has also generated its fair share of problems and has given more than a few reasons to question its mass use and necessity. These problems range from fans bullying and threatening players to a toxic culture that sometimes preferences virality over authenticity. Athletes are often expected to put their mental health on standby to complete detrimental interviews and provide commentary on potentially triggering topics. Many people believe athletes have an obligation to complete these tasks regardless of the harm since the “fan base” made them famous and sustained their careers. Simply because athletes are a part of a larger sports community, they are expected to bow to the needs of everyone except themselves. This is especially prevalent in college athletics, as many of these athletes have little to no training or resources to help them deal with extreme levels of hate and negativity.
We want to dive deeper into the glossed over and yet increasingly significant relationship between athletes' mental health and social media. This relationship is complicated by increasing pressure for athletes to gain exposure and get NIL deals while simultaneously weathering the pressure of hate comments and a loss of privacy from social media. These complexities have made it far more difficult for college athletes to feel safe and maintain their voice. At times it's uncertain whether the positive exposure they receive from social media outweighs the unprecedented hate they receive. To learn more, we have spoken to a small group of Duke student-athletes to get their individual and unique take on the trials and tribulations they have been forced to endure and their opinions on both sides of social media.
Exposure and Stardom
Ruben Mesalles is a freshman midfielder on the Duke Men’s soccer team who has recently climbed to popularity in the TikToking world. He has grown and created a platform dedicated to showing his team’s incredible shooting skills and the fun drills they endure throughout their intensive practices. With each video earning an impressive amount of views, always somewhere in the one hundred to two hundred thousand range, it is certain to say that Mesalles has formed an impressive following for himself and created a brand based on his and his team's likeness. However, Mesalles's first popular post came before his acceptance into a Duke athletic program. As a soccer player at IMG Academy, his videos were racking up likes. Many viewers enjoyed living vicariously through him and watching what it entailed to be a player at an intensive institution. Of course, with this level of fame and viewership comes the constant potential for negative comments from viewers who seek to discredit the creator's talent or worthiness.
However, Mesalles says that this has yet to be an issue for him. At times there are some negative comments about the players that appear in his videos, but they never expand past “this guy can’t play soccer,” which is easy to brush off the shoulders of such accomplished players. Mesalles also says that these comments are definitely worth enduring as his famehas brought him many gifts and sponsorships from companies in the sporting world. Some of his favorites include Liquid IV and Awaken Chocolate. Both are expensive items that are useful to have around when in a D1 athletic environment. Mesalles is, by all accounts, an excellent testimony to the benefits of social media and how it can improve the life of up-and-coming athletes.
We also analyzed and heard from Emily Cole about her experience as an athlete at Duke. Cole is a track and cross country star who has also built a massive following on TikTok that has spilled over to other platforms such as Instagram etc. Emily’s content style includes her best tips and tricks for achieving her incredible speed, meet day tips, relatable stories, and many other creative videos. She has built a platform that has allowed her to author her own book named “Athl-EATS,” which details recipes and what to eat to have a healthy and safe relationship with food while being a distance runner. She has also made videos that exemplify her aptly using her following for good and education, one of which is her discussing her overconsumption of water and how it left her in a coma. She has further expanded her following by collaborating with a well-known lacrosse player at Ohio State. She brought her fans along on the saga of finally meeting in person and going to each other's formals.
It is safe to say that Cole has used social media to her advantage and turned it into an excellent supplement to her branding. When speaking with Cole, we asked her if she has ever felt a negative pressure or impact from her intense presence on social media. Cole remarked that at times she gets comments saying that her TikToks are annoying or not informative, but they are almost always extremely easy to brush off. To this point, she remarked how in even her team group chat, her TikToks are often sent around, and parodies are recorded poking fun at her often enthusiastic videos. She laughs along with her teammates because she knows that the comments are all in good fun.
Looking past Duke University, many athletes build their initial brand and/or fan base from a singular aspect of their lives that social media has allowed them to explore. For example, in the case of Jarrett Stidham, who is an ex-Auburn quarterback who made a name for himself because of his impressive plays and athleticism, his real jump to social media mogul was because of his exceptionally ideal relationship with ex Baylor soccer player Kennedy Brown. Their story begins as two D1 athletes in a long-distance relationship; however, they still manage to keep the romance in their relationship and create fun and lasting memories together. Slowly but surely, many of Stidhma’s most-liked pictures began to be romantic snapshots of his and Brown’s romantic getaways. Stidham also gained exponential popularity with many women that followed his platform when he started to drop the subtle hint of a future proposal to Brown by tagging her on her left ring finger in every picture that they were featured in (Brady, Erik, Ortiz).
Brown and Stidham went from two relatively known athletes to a beloved power couple due to fans and their engagement on social media. Brown was a relatively unknown soccer player in terms of social media. Still, she had an incredibly quick blow-up on Instagram because of the hype and romance surrounding her relationship. She has used this boost in social media presence to launch a modeling career and gain sponsorships and brand deals from well-known companies. This is an incredible example of social media’s power in an athlete's career and future (Brady, Erik, Ortiz).
A Field for Throwing Hate
Another aspect of social media affecting the mental health of many athletes comes into play via the world of hate comments and offensive language. For many, the comments can be immensely crippling and cause the athlete to delete their social media and often take time off from the sport to regain their confidence or feel more confident in their safety after receiving threatening messages. For example, during the 2021 NCAA tournament, E.J. Liddell, a basketball player at Ohio State, was threatened after the unbelievable upset loss to Oral Roberts. Liddell explained that he received a hateful, rant-like dm that ended with the message “I hope you die.” Kofi Cockburn, a very accomplished basketball player from Illinois, was also the victim of racist hate speech after their upset loss to Loyola (USA Today).
Although these comments frequently make players question their ability to remain on social platforms, for certain personalities such as Johnny Manziel, a quarterback at Texas A&M, sitting back in fear has never been an option. He often fires back with his own comments to put down the hate commenter with a picture of his many trophies and accomplishments. An example often quoted is when an Oklahoma fan made an unbecoming tweet making fun of the star, and Manziel tweeted back, “Sweet bowl game bro,” referencing A&M’s win over Oklahoma in the cotton bowl of 41-13 (USA Today).
The Duke community is not immune to these distressful tweets and the like. Many athletes have been on the receiving end of plenty of negative comments. Thor Ulfarrson, a Men’s soccer team member, shared his story of the abusive comments that began to flood his page after a single soccer match went wrong. After Duke’s win against UCLA in the NCAA tournament, many fans turned toThor’s page to leave comments “expressing” their opinions on the young star. With comments ranging from “Nice flop last night.” to comments with aggressive words, Thor was forced to endure an intense amount of bullying after the game. Fortunately, after speaking with him, he made it extremely clear that these negative comments don't get to him. Luckily, Thor is confident in himself and his abilities as a player and does not let small insults like these make him question his value as an individual. His technique is to simply “ignore the haters'' because he doesn't care what they have to think. This is a perfect example of someone who has a healthy relationship with their sport and the social media fame that comes along with it. Thor is an excellent example of someone who utilizes these platforms but doesn’t take what is said to heart. Although, it can be extremely difficult for athletes to adopt this carefree mindset, especially when the hate worsens or becomes more threatening.
Sacrificing Confidence
Another problem of social media is the toxic effect it can have on many fans’ mental health without athletes even intending to cause pain. This nonintentional abuse comes from the brutal comparison that often ensues after browsing someone's page for hours and hours. Although the page owner had no intention of causing their viewers to view themselves in a more negative light, oftentimes, many get caught up in comparison and find it difficult to view themselves as equally worthy while viewing the highlight reels of others' lives.
We spoke with a Duke Cheerleaders who wished to remain anonymous to hear their take on how social media impacts their own mental image of themselves. First, we spoke of what is often expected of cheerleaders and the toxic “ideal” image that encompasses them. “Navaro,” the new Netflix cheer documentary, is an excellent example of glamorizing these players' lives and causing others in the sport to question their own athletic ability and dedication. Especially since the series showcases these athletes battling through injury and barely eating so that they can get the illustrious title of “on the mat.” Images like this can often manifest in athletes' brains and make them feel inferior to those around them. This Duke athlete spoke about how mind-numbing it can be to scroll for hours on TikTok or Instagram watching these athletes go about their days. They said that seeing athlete influencers post “What I eat in a day” style videos has made them question the amount that they consume. These posts have made them stress that their food consumption and sequential weight are why they haven't been able to land the awe-inspiring stunt that they've been working on for so long.
Furthermore, Instagram reels have allowed influencers to share their hair and makeup routine, which is extremely grueling and costs hundreds of dollars. Watching these athletes put on the product after product or get facials for every part of their bodies have made college athletes feel inferior. It can cause a new fear of money, shame, and insecurity that one cannot afford all of these products that the elites use to ready themselves. This then sends the growing athletes the message that if you can’t afford this or do this exact routine, you will never succeed or be deemed by the masses to be the “perfect’ athlete.
The Opportunity for Compensation
Looking past these negatives, one benefit to social media is that it has recently provided athletes the opportunity to make money. The NIL has also been a longtime running issue for college athletes. Because many athletes were unable to make money off of their likeness, many thought it was unfair and exploitative of universities to keep all of the revenue, considering that athletes’ scholarships cost only a fraction of what their names and faces make the schools each year. However, now with new NIL deals, there is an opportunity for athletes to earn some of their rightful revenue. Although lifting this longtime ban on sponsorship at the collegiate level has not come without many trials and tribulations. For instance, a significant issue currently plaguing the world of college brand deals is the clear division between women’s branding and men's branding.
While not going far from home, we can look at the Duke men's basketball team and compare it to theDuke women’s track and field team. One of the most beloved players on the Duke basketball team, Wendell Moore, has had a slew of brand deals and opportunities thrown in his direction. One of the most interesting and prominent ones featured on his Instagram page is his affiliation with the chips brand Ruffles and the soft drink brand Mountain Dew. In his captions, he writes, “My game day combo is a bag of @Ruffles and @MountainDew.” Although we know that these snacks are a delicious combination, Moore almost certainly is not allowed to indulge in these treats before a serious and sweat-inducing game versus even the most accessible of opponents. These treats are frequently viewed as an indulgence that a serious athlete would seldom eat. This speaks to the fact that these brands strictly use these basketball stars for their likeness and fame. This matters because when comparing the sorts of brand deals that these star male athletes get to those that incredible women are offered, there is a switch in the brands.
In contrast, star Duke track runner Erin Marsh also has many brand deals and ambassadors, but one that stands out while scrolling through her feed is the couple of pictures that feature her endorsement of a bikini brand, Vaya island. Although the context of the exchange between brand and player has been lost, it is interesting that the picture chosen is one of her in the bikini, as many know the brand must approve the content before an athlete can post. Thus, this raises the question of why Moore has no sort of swim brand deals on-site and is instead being sponsored by unhealthy food brands, while almost the exact opposite brands sponsor marsh. One could argue that the athletes have different tastes in what sorts of deals they want to make, which may be true; however, it seems far more likely that certain companies and brands reach out to a client whose assets are more exploitable to their brand. While ruffles reach out to a big athlete to rebrand themselves as a “sporting snack,” Vaya island will reach out to a female athlete and almost certainly request an image to be posted of her in the revealing suit.
To further emphasize this point, we can compare two more athletes from the Duke community. Emily Cole is an elite runner and TikTok star that has racked up thousands of followers and millions of views. She is quickly becoming an influencer in the sporting world and creating a name for herself. Trevor Keels is also an influential Duke athlete on the men's basketball team who has risen to stardom. Although both are incredible athletes and have won numerous awards in their perspective areas of play, their brand deals and sponsorships differ exponentially. Keel's most recent deal is with the southern-style restaurant Outback. In contrast, Cole's most recent brand deal that is easily distinguishable is her picture featuring Olay and Secret's two brands that are historically geared towards the “feminine” fewer hardcore athletes.
Conclusion
Social media is a powerful tool for building one's career. It can offer growing athletes a platform to build their career, brand, and fan relationships. However, this path comes with the more negative and less ideal side of harassment and mal-intended people. Athletes can frequently be shunned by their old fans or by those patrolling the internet trying to find something to hate on. Nonetheless, one must acknowledge its nonnegotiable part in the future of athletics. Thus, instead of destroying social media, the hope would be to rebrand or turn it into an environment that is more on track with positivity and fosters a culture of growth for all of those involved.
Thus, to improve social media and how it operates, we are proposing a couple of changes. First, we offer that athletes do what many have already begun doing, shutting off all comments on social media pages. This practice has been exercised by popular sites such as VSCO. This site has been praised as the future of social media since it allows users to share whatever they want without fear of hateful comments or worry about whether others are “liking” or validating their posts. It seems like a simple technique; however, it isa very clearcut and effective way to reach the goal of comment neutrality.
Another method would be to have more substantial and effective monitors of social media comments and accounts. This could be in the form of more digital codes solely meant to identify common words used in hate comments or find an account that does not seem to be made for an actual human and is just a vessel to write destructive words. Creating more specifically targeted programs for finding and ending these accounts could lower bullying rates tenfold.
And finally, since this level of censorship is most likely unrealistic for media sites to achieve, a more direct and perhaps beneficial proposal would be to help athletes directly.
In all other aspects of life, colleges provide abundant resources for athletes; social media should be no different. Perhaps by nature of media trainers, these experts would work with players and manage their posts and social media fingerprint. Furthermore, it would be highly beneficial to offer more mental health resources for athletes to learn how to cope with the various hate. This is also in the school's best interest because if the players are being harassed, they will not be performing at their greatest. Thus, taking care of their mental health and granting them the tools to cope with what others write about them will help their confidence and help them deal with the potential scrutiny that follows later in their athletic career.
Works cited
Brady, Erik, and Jorge L. Ortiz. “For Athletes, Social Media Not All Fun and Games.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 1 Aug. 2013, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2013/07/31/for-athletes-social-me….
“Ohio State's Liddell Speaks out about Social-Media Abuse.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 24 Mar. 2021, https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2021/03/24/ohio-states-lidd….