NRL 2023: The negative abuse that drove Dragons, Maroons hero Ben Hunt off social media

St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt has revealed why he severed ties with social media, won’t ever look back – and the fear he has for young teammates.

St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt severed ties with social media about three years ago. Fed up with the negativity and abuse, the Dragons star shut down his social media accounts and hasn’t looked back.

“Pretty much everything out there was negative,” Hunt said.

“I felt like it was weighing me down a bit more than I was getting out of it. I never used it as a promotional thing – a lot of guys use their Instagram for their brand and what not, but I have never been into that.

“I felt like every time I got on there I saw negative things. I thought it was better to get off. There was a couple of years there where I copped a hiding.

Hunt was a lightning rod for criticism during his early days at the Dragons. Picture: Getty

“I think it was the actual amount of it over time, it slowly takes a toll on you. You say individual comments don’t affect you but when it is happening over and over and over again, it just weighs on you.

“You start feeling negative. I have never been that person – I felt like I was starting to get negative on things. The answer for me was getting away from it really.

“The first couple of months you think should I get it back, I wouldn’t mind taking a look. After that, I never looked back.

“I am really happy about it now. Even the amount of time you waste on there. Some of the boys have eight or nine hours a day of screen time on their phones.

“There are other things you could be doing.”

Hunt has become the latest sports star to speak out as part of Code Sport Investigation into the abuse of athletes on social media, detailing his own decision to take a break to escape the torrential downpour of negativity that seemed to follow every defeat.

Fellow NRL stars Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker earlier this week warned that athletes would be driven to suicide unless something was done to curb the abuse. It is a view echoed by Hunt, who supports government intervention to stem the flow of vitriol.

“Definitely, definitely,” Hunt said.

“Some of the young kids coming through, some are unstable as it is. You put that on their shoulders, you have some bad games, and it seems like the world is out to get them.

“Everywhere they look there are negative comments about them. It can definitely get to a young man, that’s for sure. It is people with nothing better to do.

Cody Walker (L) and Latrell Mitchell spoke out this week about the social media abuse of athletes. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“Their life is that poor they want to make others suffer as well. I have seen some of the stuff other guys have copped and it is just not fair.

“You would love some government intervention but in the end they are always going to find a way. People are always going to find a way to track you down and get inside your head.”

Hunt knows that first hand. He copped his share of abuse before leaving social media behind. Yes, there were death threats, although he never considered them serious enough to take the matter further.

It was, however, enough to drive him off social media and leave lingering concerns over the impact it is having on his younger teammates.

Fullback Tyrell Sloan has been among those to be targeted by online trolls, opting to shut down his social media accounts last season after copping ugly – and often racial – abuse.

“We play a team sport,” Hunt said.

“We have one bad game – a couple of years ago it seemed they were all coming for me. We have a bad game now and they all seem to come for Tyrell Sloan.

“A lot of them are not going to get off it. I tell them to try to ignore it. The people who have those opinions have no idea of how hard you are working.

“They are just keyboard warriors – just ignore them. It is hard, especially for a young kid. As I said, they are on their screens eight or nine hours a day.

“I have tried to talk to a couple of them. Just get off and see how it goes. Your life may completely change. These kids would never have had a one without it.

“Just give it a break for a month and you never know. Just try it out.”

Hunt with children Brady and Bowie, and wife Bridget – who is a prolific social media user. Source: Instagram

The irony is that Hunt’s wife Bridget is a prolific user of social media. A qualified nutritionist, she has more than 31,000 followers on Instagram and uses social media to share recipes as well as document family life.

“She cops a few things over the years for sure,” Hunt said.

“I say to her, just ignore it darling, they have no idea what we are trying to achieve. She gets a bit fiery sometimes and messages them back.

“I say let them go, that’s exactly what they want, they want you to reply. ”

Originally published as NRL 2023: The negative abuse that drove Dragons, Maroons hero Ben Hunt off social media