Cautionary tales of young student-athletes and social media

Some things can be either devilish or saintly. Sometimes both.

When social media first became prevalent, the purpose became to reconnect with people
you had lost contact with from previous portions of your life. Then it gradually morphed
into expressing various thoughts from light-hearted to lightning rod. When celebrities,
including but not limited to professional athletes, developed accounts, they became
popular to follow and served as an communication means. Translation, they became more
accessible.

The reason I bring up social media is that even those in high school have accounts,
probably younger in some cases. With another school year of sports seasons upon us,
it’s a reminder of yet another minefield coaches have to wade through today that was not
present say 20 years ago.

Another reason the issue is significant is look no further than Milwaukee Brewers pitcher
Josh Hader. During the All-Star Game on July 17, tweets he sent as a 17-year-old surfaced
-- messages filled with racist, homophobic and misogynist sentiments. Hader discovered
the reporting of the years-old messages after his outing, and he answered hard questions
about them after the game.

“(The last four days) haven't been good,” Hader said at the time. “I regret the mistakes
that I made in the past. That doesn't resemble the person I am now.”

Hader expressed enough contrition in his postgame comments that neither Major League
Baseball nor the Brewers decided to suspend him. Instead, he was ordered to undergo
sensitivity training, a process that began in a session with Billy Bean, a former big leaguer
who now works as the vice president for social responsibility and inclusion for MLB.
Bean is also a prominent member of the LGBT community, a group that was the target of
some of Hader's tweets. Bean came out publicly as gay after his playing days. While I’m
not Hader’s defense attorney, sensitivity training is nothing more than a Band-Aid.

In fairness to Hader, he is not the only professional or college athlete that had tweets from
years past surface. University of Nebraska football coach Scott Frost recently had a strong
message for potential recruits regarding their social media behavior:

“Aside from GPA, when we’re recruiting kids, the next thing we’re going to look at is
what kind of kid the person is. And part of that is looking through every ounce of
social media we can possibly look at. So if some kid tweeted something four years ago
that’s bad, we’re going to know about it.

“And I’ll tell you this right now — if there’s anything negative about women, if there’s
anything racial or about sexuality, if there’s anything about guns or anything like that,
we’re just not going to recruit you, period. Piece of advice for you — what you put on
social media, that’s your résumé to the world. That’s what you’re trying to tell the world
you’re all about. That’s how you’re advertising yourself. Be smart with that stuff.”

Frost’s advice could not be more on point. However, I also have to understand that I did not
enter the social media world until I was 34. It’s safe to say that most people are more mature
at age 34 than 17. Thank God every silly thing I said or did never got exposed for the whole
world to see. Even as an adult, I’ve posted things on social media that has rattled a cage or
three.

The digital-age communication tools open the door to countless possibilities, but with both
upside and downside. The problem, however, is that some people can use social media for
the wrong reasons. Therefore, healthy boundaries and valuing privacy still have their place.

Among the negatives for social media is that some youngsters might use it for trash talking,
among other things. Anyone can sign up for a Twitter or Facebook account, then use it as a
verbal weapon while possibly hiding their true identity.

When the communications reaches beyond team matters, you get into a dark area because
too many players and coaches have gotten themselves into trouble with comments that
become too personal. Players have a venue to bully one another, hidden beyond their
keyboard.

However, social media is here to stay for the foreseeable future, but think before you hit
that “send” button because once you post it, it’s live. You never know who is following
you. On the flip side, you can use it in a constructive way.

So how do you legislate youngsters with social media? For openers, hold them responsible
for everything they do. Having specific rules is a tough sell, but youngsters need to know
how much of a slippery slope the social media can pose. All it takes is one bad picture or
message, and a player’s career in high school could change forever.