I totally understand the frustration and disappointment all us Eels fans are going through this season. I also understand it's the right of fans to speak there piece in regards to players and coaching staff at the club. In saying this, I ask fans to think twice before posting comments that are bagging / insulting players and staff. Sometimes, some players don't know how to handle constant criticism and insults. Sometimes, and it has happened in the past, players that are struggling with mental issues such as depression fail to handle the pressure placed on them from fans, sometimes the insults become to hard to live with. Just imagine if a player was suffering from depression and it was your comments that caused him to harm himself. Something that you said or posted caused this person to end there life.
I only really thought about stuff like this after a conversation I had with a former NRL player. We got into talking about how his best mate and fellow player took there own life and the only thing they can put it down to was that he was struggling with the pressure and the criticism he was receiving from the fans. Everybody handles insults and criticism differently. Some handle it better than others. My advice is, if a player has a bad game and you feel the need to post insulting comments, say your piece and then just leave it. Insults are not going to change the result or the poor performance of the player. I have seen some people on this site that started bagging 1 or more players from the 1st month of this years comp and they continue today.
I completely understand that we all have players we like and dislike. I'm just asking for people to think twice before posting insulting comments. Maybe imagine the player your about to insult is a relative or family friend, would you still say the same if this was the case?
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Well said Slippery
A very relevant and important message-perhaps the best post on this site this year. Mental health is a huge issue in society.
And so say all of us. Well written and great philosophy Poppa and other posters. It takes a lot of discipline to keep comments impersonal and non-threatening.
Interesting that things were so bad he decided that the opinions of people he never really had to interact with were so important that he needed to end his life.
I think other things may have been at play there. After all, if those things were affecting him that way why not walk away from playing and do something else. Seems a bit extreme to be just playing pressure and fan criticism??
I have children living with depression/anxiety and all I can tell them is that they are loved and nothing is that bad. I have told them the worse thing to happen might be that they have to hang out with Dad.
Condolences to all parties.
I sat a corporate social media course at one stage when I was in an old role and the guy hosting the course told us he was working with 5 Sydney clubs constantly educating their players on social media awareness and engagement. Whilst I agree the death riding of players can get to a point where it’s pretty nasty , players also need to understand that part of that package involves heavy criticism . No different to politicians who not only have to deal with online abuse , but also people sitting outside their houses , digging into their personal lives and even having their children followed .
People need to toughen up a bit or the people around them need to intervene if they’re having mental problems . I think blaming fans online for having a dig out of frustration is a long bow .
I think there’s a difference though between death riding maybe a guy like Billy Rogers who was hopeless but got a run through no fault of his own but copped massive sprays from everyone including myself , and I’ll admit Billy got the wrong end of the stick , and a guy like say Norman who’s off field dramas and lack of smart decisions on the paddock after demanding a high paypacket who in my opinion is fair game .
Criticism is one thing, outright abuse and threats of physical violence is a step too far. Just because you're a public figure, you shouldn't be subjected to abuse or threats.
It's also a bit different regarding politicians. They're elected to represent the people and are subject to public interest. What they do in their personal lives can impact the way they do their jobs which can affect the public. Doesn't mean they should be harassed or their children should be followed.
But athletes are not elected, what they do in their personal lives, generally doesn't affect anyone else in relation to their job.
Again, they've got to expect criticism, but they don't have to accept threats or abuse. Hell, you've got morons that directly attack the club's social media accounts. Neither the players or coaches read that account, it's the guy that runs the account who ends up getting all that crap.
Super , I think you’ve missed the point . I never said anything about whether politicians should or shouldn’t be followed during their private time , I just said that they’re both in a role that involves heavy criticism and pointed out that pollies have it 10x harder than these sports people and putting a bit of focus on the fact that the people calling for us to cotton wool players from online insults are probably the same people in many cases that would happily hit their Facebook pages and rip politicians a new one . Even though I’ll have to disagree on your opinion that a guy like say Tony Abbott who’s no longer even a prime minister can’t as much as have a photo of him in the paper fighting a bushfire without people saying vile things about him online is part of public interest . Can you say you haven’t said nasty things about politicians online Super ? Or anyone else that thinks players are exempt ? I mean they’re all humans afterall .
Poppa ,
see above .
I will asd that most of Norman’s criticism , the foundations have been laid when he threw shit in our faces with his behaviour . To date I haven’t seen anyone threaten , harass, physically threaten or intimidate Corey or any player . Not sure where Super got that angle from . I think this whole thing about us driving players over the edge is a bit Henny Penny type stuff . If people were hitting players personal Facebook pages or whatever other platform cunts use these days maybe my opinion would be a bit different . Does anyone have an example of a post here where a player was abused directly ?
Poppa , for starters my wife is married to me she’s pretty insensitive to banter , low brow and insults. Secondly , it’s the internet . You won’t get anything here any more confronting than say ... the comments section on any Facebook page comments section . If anything here or there is so real to you that you consider self harming then you probably need to take a break . If your’re confident enough in yourself to take a highly opinionated role ( I.e Super or even Brett ) you’re pretty well equipped to take the challenges that come with it . If you can’t you have no place on the Internet becasue it’s only going to end in tears no mater what part of the internet you decide to engage in .
This has been going on in all walks of life long before the net , if anything your ability to disconnect from abuse is easier than ever right now . I mean , all you have to do is put down your smart device and it all stops . Growing up before the internet society in general had much more risk of abuse , school , pubs , workplace , you name it , none of which had bullying , fighting etc policies that keep people safe like they do today . I grew up on the beach and we only had to go one or two beaches along and the threat of violence was very high just because it wasn’t your local , but we paddled out anyway and dealt with it , neverlone travel down the coast to a totally different region .
Turn your fucking phone off , your sensitivity is the problem . No wonder children have anxiety issues .
Great post. Agree 100%.
What about the Rock Stars, Actors and for that matter any other public figure on social media?
If people are that incensed about silly abuse on the internet they should be campaigning to have the whole thing shut down, not telling the masses to hold their opinions for the sake of highly paid public figures who have all chosen their own path in life.
I have a thousand times more concern for the homeless, disabled and the many other disadvantaged (thru no fault of their own) members of society.
If you can't handle the internet stay away from it. Just like if you have a problem with gambling don't plonk yourself down infront of a pokie.
Why is it that in 2019 no one is prepared to take responsibility for their own lives without constantly trying to pass the buck or get everyone else to change for thier sake?
It's f*****g pathetic.
Spot on , we have farmers in strife , people on the streets , and massive issues with all parts of this country , and the whole world seems to be focused on chicks with dicks being able to be called “ they “ ( which mind you 5 minutes ago would’ve been classed as offensive ) and getting more money for women to do less work .
Now , I’m supposed to hold back from calling Junior Paulo who was happy to bash an innocent stranger on the side of the road any names that might hurt is widdle feelings .
Get fucked ....
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