Curt Schilling tracked Twitter trolls and put social media ugliness on notice
People have tasked to find ways about how to silence anonymous Twitter users that post threats and bully others. It only took Curt Schilling a few hours. Last week, Schilling, a retired Major League Baseball pitcher, proudly tweeted congratulations to his daughter Gabby, who earned an opportunity to play softball in college. What began as good […]
NFL Combine athletes: respect the media and the process. And lift heavy weights
It’s NFL Combine week, a time when potential NFL draft prospects don skin-tight Under Armor skivvies and run really fast and jump super far. Or at least that’s the goal. As important as it is for young football players to showcase their physical attributes, it’s equally as important for them to use their manners and […]
Social media likely helped drive NFL, NCAA moves
Sports timelines — sans Derek Jeter — read more like rap sheets than stat sheets. We’re not just in the midst of football season, but in ironic timing, the last four weeks have read what we might expect from “CSI: Gridiron.” Take Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. On September 12 at 4:36 p.m. ET, Peterson was indicted […]
Time (again) to teach NFL Rookies how to appropriately use social media
(This post, written by Gail Sideman, originally appeared on The Football Educator website.) We see it seemingly at least once each week. An athlete or coach tweets something that they quickly delete but in the land of screen grabs, it gathers critical steam and editorialized retweets because of the post’s negativity, prejudice or controversial tone. […]
Social media accelerated Sterling, Silver NBA case
Last Saturday, audio leaked and exposed common and fringe NBA fans to what many knew to be a history of racial bias from Los Angeles Clippers owner, Donald Sterling. By Monday afternoon, just two days later, there were nearly 1 million negative tweets about Sterling posted, according to ESPN’s sports business reporter, Darren Rovell. Many […]
PGA golfer Steve Elkington knows how to tick off a lot of people
While I wish I would have been quicker to write about the exemplary presser NFL Draft prospect Michael Sam conducted at the NFL Combine during the weekend (it’s a must-watch for ALL athletes), it’s the negative that drives me to write before a Twitter violator hits “SEND” again. Multiple PGA Tour title winner Steve Elkington, […]
An open letter to Seahawks cornerback, Richard Sherman
Dear Richard — I was wrong. I experienced a knee-jerk reaction during your rant to FOX Sports’ Erin Andrews and all of us in TV Land, I retweeted something about a Stanford education not teaching you how to act intelligently. I watched you with a “WTF?” look on my face and to those in the […]
Ryan Braun will always have a PR challenge
Maybe you’ve heard… Brewers left-fielder Ryan Braun was suspended for 65 games, the balance of the regular season, by Major League Baseball for violating the organization’s drug program. While neither party specified the violations for which Braun was suspended, that Braun accepted the verdict without resistance gives the public a perception that he is guilty […]
Louisville’s Kenny Klein occupies the penthouse of sports PR professionals
Editor’s Note: I intended to post this one week after the Final Four. With all that happened in the sports world, including the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, there never seemed to be a “good” time. While I may have waited too long, the fact remains, Kenny Klein’s picture is next to the definition, PR […]
When social media is cruel, keep communication lines open
You’ve heard the phrase “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.” Most of us were taught that lesson before kindergarten, but it escaped some people who hide behind screen names and spew mean-spirited comments on social media pages. Among those frequently targeted are public personalities including professional athletes and media. While […]