Spare a thought for our poor old athletes. I mean that quite sincerely. When an athlete first begins honing their skills as a wee tyke, they likely never consider that being ‘the best’ will also mean intense public scrutiny of their every word and action. Politicians deserve to have their every utterance analysed. Those who can hit a ball really well, or swim very fast- not so much, you’d think. But that is the way the cookie crumbles these days. The golden era of proudly loutish, tinny drinking cricket heroes with a bosomy companion draped over their arm are long gone. Sports people are expected to conduct themselves with the utmost propriety. That’s why they need companies like White Echo to help guide the way for them.
Because- let’s be frank- elite athletes are human. They don’t always do the right thing and they don’t always say the right thing. They’re also afforded unique privileges which can make the whole ‘role model’ caper that much more difficult to execute.
The advent of social media has put athlete’s weak points into sharp focus. It’s hard to recall a month where a well known sporting identity hasn’t landed in hot water care of an off hand remark on Twitter. It’s an unfortunate reality that the kind of throwaway line you might toss out amongst friends without a seconds thought can now be held up for the world’s judgment. But this is what athletes must now contend with. Social media experts are playing an increasingly crucial role in helping athletes to manage their social media reputation.
