It was a warm day at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, where DeAngelo Williams and the Carolina Panthers hosted the Seattle Seahawks…. DeAngelo Williams was set to have a splendid game on the ground, with the Seahawks run defense being ranked in the bottom half of the NFL .
Williams would end up with a porous 6 yards, on 6 attempts, and a fumble….. Fantasy owners were annoyed, to say the least! They were so annoyed that they expressed their frustration through the use of social media outlet, Twitter. In there tweets, they used profanity and harsh remarks that are unacceptable for me to show examples of in this blog. Williams, like most human beings would be, was unhappy about the vicious remarks that were being tweeted about him. In many cases, a professional athlete would keep quiet, but in this case, due to the high engagement Williams has on Twitter, he decided to retaliate, by posting a tweet saying:
“Dear upset fantasy owners with the bad language you are a fantasy owner for a reason because you can't play or apparently fantasy coach!”
By Williams taking a shot at his fantasy owners, Williams essentially said that they are fantasy owners because they can’t play the game of football, and they are fantasy owners who can’t coach, because they were dumb enough to play him.
This produced a lot of re-tweeting and many angry responses that made DeAngelo feel as though he may have put himself in hot water. Fans now were stewing in his words and hurled hurtful epithets at Williams. They re-tweeted his response and started threads of their own, that lambasted the Carolina running back.
Picture taken from: Fantasy Knuckleheads
This Twitter outrage definitely showed the influence that Williams had on his fans and followers, due to the high volume of responses and other Twitter activity. Fantasy owners were no longer just pissed off at Williams because of his poor play, but now, because of his own tweet that he tweeted.
After the consequent reaction from his owners and followers, DeAngelo backed off his initial tweet and assured fans and fantasy owners that the 1-4 Panthers would bounce back from this poor start. Below is the tweet in which he begins his attempt to resurrect his Twitter persona:
“As fans u have every right to be disappointed, but just know that we are even MORE disappointed, and we WILL get this thing turned around”
Overall, this is a great example of how Social Media is used in Fantasy Football. While there was no breaking news or important injury report, this was a case of a Professional athletes emotions getting the best of him, and how it effected his fan base and those that owned him in Fantasy leagues across the world. Williams could have chosen any social media platform, but he decided to utilize Twitter because of the many relationships and engagements he already had there.
This post reminds me of one of my own. I wrote about athletes using Twitter, and how it can be used in so many ways. Like you said, Twitter is great for engaging with fans, but must be done cautiously. Today athletes are under so much scrutiny for what they say and do in the public eye. Professional soccer goalie, Hope Solo, is an example of someone who used Twitter negatively during the Olympics. DeAngelo's situation is a bit different, and reminds me of Sam Ficken's Twitter predicament. People were very out of line towards Ficken on social media, so he avoided it all together. DeAngelo chose to engage with the people tweeting at him. He did let his emotions get the best of him.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a very interesting issue that has appeared thanks to social media. Specifically relating to the proper etiquette for tweeting as a professional athlete or celebrity. For the first time ever, there is a direct line of communication between fans and professional athletes. Freedom of speech applies to Twitter, even though it seems unfair for fans to berate athletes so relentlessly after a bad performance. My personal opinion for professional athletes, is that as soon as they sign that contract, they become public figures and role models for various people. Whether they want it or not, that comes with a responsibility. My advice would be to always remain cordial and classy. The beauty of social media is they don't have to read all the hateful posts. As for fans who are harsh on Twitter, they have every right to be, but when they begin harassing or abusing an athlete, maybe they should recheck their priorities. Great post, definitely a hot topic right now! - Emily McKenna
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent post describing how Twitter has allowed professional athletes to be in direct contact with their both their fans and haters. While Twitter can be used by fans to give praise for their favorite athletes, others can use it to harass athletes that do not perform as well as hoped. In this case DeAngelo let the negative comments gain control over his emotions, and thanks to the speediness and connectivity of Twitter his comments were automatically available. Since social media connects athletes to their fans in such a way, it is important for athletes to make sure to censor and control themselves on the site. While his haters should have not tweeted such negative comments toward him, DeAngelo also should accept some responsibility and make sure to not stoop to their level.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me that more athletes, specifically NFL players (due to fantasy football), don't blow up Twitter thanks to all these harsh remarks. I love fantasy football and am in my own league this year, but part of me actually does not like it. It is changing the way people view football and it makes the fantasy owners feel like they literally own the players. I get angry when a player I have does not do well, but I would never take to Twitter to harshly criticize one of them, especially on their own Twitter page. Yea I have jokingly made tweets about how a player of mine did bad, but nasty remarks are uncalled for and seem childish. While Williams shouldn't have stooped down to their level, it is completely understandable. I have a blog post about how athletes are held to a higher standard and have to watch what they post on Twitter, and this is a great example. Twitter is a great tool for players to connect with fans, but it may also lead to great frustration.
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