Chris Anstey: Social media changing sport’s rules forever
IN THE wake of one of basketball’s darkest moments it will be interesting to see what penalties are handed out and how these are driven by public expectation, largely expressed via social media, writes Chris Anstey.
Opinion
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IT used to be all about the name on the front of your jersey, not the one on the back.
We were never concerned about how we looked in an action shot that we could later share on Instagram. We lived in the moment, not for the opportunity to capture and upload it.
Social media provides a platform to continue rivalries and sledging off court, and a forum for fans worldwide to critique the performances of athletes and teams, major events and news.
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The clash between Australia and the Philippines in a World Cup qualifying basketball match this week is one example of how much social media has changed sporting culture.
The immediacy of information, a 24/7 news cycle and user-generated content exacerbated an extreme situation.
Where we previously had to wait for a news broadcast from an objective point of view, we now have hundreds of thousands of instant, differing viewpoints clouding our understanding and often causing us to pass judgment before all the facts are known.
What we saw in that match was a cheap shot, followed by an intense over-reaction due to the need to protect a teammate, followed by a hail of punches by the Filipino team before their bench emptied and launched into an old-fashioned street-brawl on an international basketball court.
Players, officials, fans all involved.
I’ve never been involved in a 25-person street fight, and don’t know many people who have,
so I was amazed at how many self-professed experts were able to get their thoughts into writing and posted on social media within minutes of the fight erupting.
I have been involved in thousands of basketball games, many of them international, and
I’ll be honest, I still don’t know how I would have reacted.
At the time all I could think was that the Boomers bench and staff were incredible in being able to stay put. It must have been difficult to stand by and watch.
But in the wake of one of basketball’s darkest moments it will be interesting to see what penalties are handed out and how these are driven by public expectation, largely expressed via social media.
There are calls for up to a year ban for the Filipino players who set upon a helpless Chris Goulding, or the person who hit Nathan Sobey after a chair had already been thrown at him. What penalties would these people be looking at if we removed the basketball court, and this had actually happened on the street?
More importantly, what kind of impact will the social media fallout have on the Australian players caught up in the melee, many who were only acting in self-defence?
These incidents have the capacity via social media to haunt an athlete with the click of a mouse.
Social media at its absolute lowest? Then how about the tasteless selfie (above) taken by the Filipino team after the altercation.
Hopefully that act is taken into consideration when the penalties are handed out.
Chris Anstey is a former NBA and Melbourne Tigers player and coach
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