Homophobia large portion of online abuse aimed at footballers and basketballers – study

Homophobia large portion of online abuse aimed at footballers and basketballers – study


The three unions say “industrial action” is required to protect players – which could include a combined campaign to raise awareness about the issue, rather than a strike or further boycotts of platforms.

Last year leading sports boycotted social media as they called on social media companies to combat abuse on their platforms. A separate report by Signify showed a drop in abuse was followed by a significant rise in May 2021 as the football season reached its conclusion.

Jonathan Hirshler, Signify CEO, said: “We’re confident that we will start to see more proactive, real-world solutions protecting players from the poison of online abuse.”

In response to the report – which has not yet been seen by Twitter – a spokesperson for the social media platform said: “We are committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance and as outlined in our hateful conduct policy.

“We do not tolerate the abuse or harassment of people on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation.

“Today, more than 50% of violative content is surfaced by our automated systems, further reducing the burden on individuals to report abuse.

“While we have made recent strides in giving people greater control to manage their safety, we know there is still work to be done.”

Terri Carmichael Jackson, WNBPA executive director, added that the report was “critical” in order for everyone to understand the “scope” of the abuse and its impacts.

She added that everyone needs to move forward together to “protect our athletes” so they feel “safe to share their genuine personalities and voices on these social media platforms with fans and business partners alike”.

Additional reporting by Sarah Rendell



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