More and more we find sports personalities tweeting their daily events - sometimes even moment to moment. And why not? It's great and, more importantly, cheap press. People from all over the world get to connect with the athlete and feel like they know him/her resulting in them rooting for the athlete. The readers also learn more about the team or the sport and get to participate in conversations about a sport they feel passionately about or at least a topic they enjoy.
I'm an avid sports fan. I have very specific opinions on football, baseball, hockey, swimming, the Olympics, and basketball. I could take or leave golf - but I can respect a true fan of the sport because a fan is a fan. And like the word "fan", you could describe me as "fanatical" in some instances. I have my teams and my athletes whom I stand behind - win or lose - good and bad. But on the other side of the coin, I have those that I feel just as passionately about disliking. It's the age old concept of the rivalry.
However, I'm not a jeerer. I have better things to do with my time than "boo" and "hiss". To support my theory on jeering, there are a lot of Philly Eagles fans who attended the NFL Draft in 1999 who, years later, now look like idiots for booing the choice of Donavan McNabb as their first round draft pick for quarterback. Since I'm never sure what player will ultimately be traded to my team, I try to keep my mouth shut publicly as much as possible regarding demeaning comments. Of course what I say to the NFL Network on my TV screen in the comfort of my living room is a different story.
I understand there are fans who think jeering is part of the game. They enjoy it - they look for opportunities. I can think back to an episode of NFL Full Contact of two guys at last year's NFL Draft wearing some very unique (nice term for they looked odd) Patriots' costumes yelling at Marshall Faulk from the stands. All I could think of was "get over it - the Greatest Show on Turf is part of NFL history."
So was I shocked that Santonio Holmes, Super Bowl XLIII MVP, is on Twitter self promoting? Of course not. Was I shocked to find out that someone decided to heckle him on Twitter? No, I'm sure most of the players who put themselves out on social media sites get it on a daily basis from at least one loud mouth. Was I surprised that someone being sued for assault would be doing anything other than trying to make himself look like a shining star and a valuable member of society? Yes because I thought any good attorney would give such PR advice to his/her client. However, I was horrified to find out that not only could Holmes not self promote in a positive way, but that he would go so far as to recommend someone kill himself because of the heckler's opinion.
"Shud try finding the worst thing that you could drink n kill urself". Really, Santonio? Is that where you wanted to go? Think that's going to help you out in the eye of public opinion? I thought the purpose of your Twitter account was to advertise yourself and get more positive attention - more attention equals more viewers of your games - equals more pull for your when you go to negotiations for more money. More fans also equals more jersey sales. And, Santonio, do you really think that Twitter is the place to announce to the world that you don't think fans sign your paychecks? Because I'm pretty sure if the fans turn on you and decide not to watch you then those jerseys stop getting sold and your contract bargaining power goes down the drain.
Twitter is for marketing. Not for suicide promotion. It's not funny. It's not entertaining. It doesn't make people like you, respect you, or other wise want to support you. Suicide isn't a joking matter. It's not appropriate, and it shouldn't be tolerated. So my recommendation is, Mr. Holmes, get off Twitter and go get a volunteer job at a suicide prevention center and see the impact that harsh words can have on people. When Mr. Holmes has does something of value, try Tweeting about your ability to contribute to society instead of showing us that not only do you not value fans, but also doesn't value human life enough to watch your Tweet comments.
And Mr. Holmes, if you need a social media advisor - give me a call.
Social Media and the Pea by Alice Ann Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.socialmediaandthepea.blogspot.com.
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