It was a privilege for Matt and Celia to be invited to speak at the World Player's Association's summit on Player Health and Safety. We talked about our work in supporting clubs and player unions in dealing with online harms, protecting, educating and helping their athletes.
Dealing with criminal threats is a big part of that work but we are passionate too about the huge mental health pressure that comes from being a public figure in the online age. Unrequested performance feedback, private conversations being leaked and going viral, intimate image abuse, media and social media exposés, there is a long long list and players need support, mentoring, education and so much more. Human beings have always been driven by ego and we used a quote that is over a thousand years old from Marcus Aurelius.
"It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own"
It is very easy to know that we should "control the controllables" (or as Marcus Aurelius also said "You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realise this, and you will find strength") but it is quite another thing to master this. It can be done though. We may have been naive, in 2004 (when Facebook launched), to think that we could have an open network of platforms where athletes could promote their brand, their message and their values, and that it would always be an enjoyable place to be. Acceptance that it isn't, though, but that there are certain controls that can be put in place (such as not allowing it to become a feedback loop) can be incredibly empowering.
Sharing these thoughts and ideas with industry professionals from across the world was also empowering. It was also a huge pleasure to have our clients from the Rugby Players Association and the Professional Cricketers Association there at the event.
The PCA shared a video in which their member Anuj Dal talked about the help and support we were able to provide when he was abused online.
When we returned home we were able to showcase a video which we have launched with the RPA.
Comentarios