Kiwis hit tweet spot
Are the days of the humble, reserved Kiwi sports icons gone, asks
While the Kiwi way has been to stay humble, score the try without a smile and give credit to the whole team, increasingly New Zealand sports personalities are sharing their lives through social media.
Engagements, weddings, retirements, births, baby bumps, baby showers are broadcast for thousands and sometimes millions of followers.
Well known Kiwi athletes have adopted the Donald Trump presidential approach of putting a message out for all to see, then avoiding any questioning from the media.
Prime 2018 examples include Wallaby rugby player Israel Folau’s religious beliefs – he makes this list through his marriage to New Zealand netballer Maria Folau – Silver Fern Katrina Rore’s response to being dropped, Gemma and Richie McCaw’s birth of baby Charlotte and All Black Beauden Barrett’s engagement to partner Hannah Laity.
Athletes are effectively cutting media out and communicating straight to the public, avoiding any tricky questions.
At no cost, the public are now savvy to a glimpse of the day in the life of a sporting superstar along with millions of other hungry followers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, albeit one with public relations in mind.
University of Auckland media sport lecturer Dr Margaret Henley says athletes using social media to create or enhance their personal ‘brand’ is now the norm.
There is also an increasing understanding about the pitfalls and strength of managing a public social media profile.
‘‘The media is quick to swoop on any social media postings that can be worked up into a story and there are plenty of examples – such as Israel Folau – where a few posts can ignite faster than an Aussie bush fire.’’
Australian rugby’s highest profile player, Folau courted controversy with a social media comment on gay people.
Six months after tweeting his opposition to same sex marriage, Folau said on Instagram God’s plan for gay people was ‘‘HELL... Unless they repent of their sins and turn to God’’.
Because such incidents can bring athletes into disrepute it is commonplace for sports organisations to educate players on how to use social media appropriately.
Some athletes hire someone to manage the construction of their public image through social media, Henley says.
‘‘It takes time to understand that a throw away line, in a social media conversation with your personal social media contacts, can become something else once it is out in the wider social media space.
‘‘[The message] can take on a life of its own and be interpreted in ways the sender of the original post would not or even could not have considered.
‘‘Athletes are not media trained in the same way as politicians – that is not their day job.’’
While the majority of athletes are educated, there are others who have not had a privileged pathway into elite sport and can often fall into the trap of social media.
Henley says the Folau example gave rise to a very complex range of issues which were addressed by athletes, journalists and even the legal profession around aspects of freedom of speech and what constitutes hate speech.
‘‘These are crucial debates that
as a society it is healthy for us to address on a regular basis in all areas of public life.’’
It also gave an opportunity for high profile athletes such as All Blacks TJ Perenara and Brad Weber to make strong personal statements about their stance on homophobic attitudes.
One-test All Black Weber tweeted his disgust at the comments made by Folau about gay people and Perenara soon joined the debate.
Super Rugby players and personnel generally were reluctant to comment publicly, but Weber said he was ‘‘kinda sick’’ of players staying quiet on issues.
‘‘Rather than remaining anonymous behind the party line of professional rugby, which is not in the business of disseminating personal opinion on significant social issues, these athletes saw this as an opportunity to be social change agents,’’ Henley says.
‘‘Their social media statements, particularly Weber’s, were measured but very personal and put a maturely expressed opposing point of view out into social media space.
‘‘It was a relief to hear that young male athletes were prepared to publicly express a deeply felt point of view which was in opposition to that of Folau.’’
The desire to keep all informed
Athletes often feel pulled to constantly update their profiles and engage with fans. This benefits both parties, says Henley.
Sports fans are no longer satisfied with just watching a match and social media creates a ‘‘shared’’ community.
‘‘The social media activity of an athlete can become just as important or more so than the televised or streamed event,’’ she says.
‘‘For many fans the sense of community is deeply appealing, often inspirational and a window into an athlete/fan relationship that is not constructed through a third party such as mainstream media.’’
Athletes get reward from sharing as life on the road can be alienating.
‘‘It doesn’t look like that to outsiders but the research on mental ill health issues in elite athletes frequently paints a different picture with the relentless pressure to perform and succeed.’’
This year provided no shortage of big social media announcements in sport.
Notable sports events to happen off the field
❚ Richie and Gemma McCaw announce the birth of baby Charlotte Rose
Receiving more than 31,000 likes, this was one of the biggest off-field announcements.
The couple each shared a photo of the hands of All Blacks great Richie, former Black Stick Gemma and Charlotte locked together with the words: ‘‘We are excited to announce the arrival of our daughter, Charlotte Rose McCaw. Thank you for the love and blessings we have received, our hearts are so full.’’
The couple informed their followers and chose to enjoy the moment by keeping a low profile on their digital platforms since.
❚ Sonny Bill and Alana Raffie announce the birth of Zaid
All Blacks midfielder Sonny Bill Williams is one of the best examples of an athlete who bypasses traditional media via social media; he has 600,000 Instagram followers and more than 800,000 Twitter followers.
Williams announced the birth of his three kids, his boxing bouts, code switching and club signings all on his social accounts.
❚ Beauden Barrett and Hanna Laity get engaged
❚ Marina Erakovic announces her retirement from tennis
❚ Dan and Honor Carter announce third baby is on the way
❚ Valerie Adams announces birth of Kimoana Josephine AdamsPrice