Toxic trolls, takes the toll on Sportsperson.
The game of sport, where winning and losing are considered to be part of the game. When it is almost certain that one team will lose and the other team will win. Despite the certainty, the fans cheer at the top of their lungs when their team wins and cry their hearts out when the team they love ends up on the losing side. Any team sport, whether cricket, football, hockey, or Kabaddi, requires a team effort to win, but the same cannot be said for a loss. A particular player might have a bad day and end up gobbling the match for the team. Nevertheless, irrespective of the results, it is absolutely criminal of the fans to spread toxicity and hateful propaganda against such players.
Each and every player plays for their nation and strives hard to win every game for their respective team. No player likes to perform poorly on purpose, and that is a perspective that the fans need to inculcate while enjoying the game. However, the fans forget that the players are humans too, and every human is bound to make a mistake some day or the other. Be it international players, a 9 to 5 desk worker, a news reporter or an actor performing on stage, everyone is prone to making mistakes. While the fans forget the basics and lash out on players like it is the end of the world, more than anything, this online trolling and abuse tranquillizes the confidence of players. The next time they are on the field, under similar circumstances, such trolling, such abuses might come back circling in their heads in a loop, affecting their future performances as well.
What’s behind the faceless trolls: lack of empathy?
One such instance happened in the recently concluded India vs Pakistan match in the super fours of the Aisa Cup 2022. A certain 22-year-old Arshdeep Singh, who has just commenced his international career, was on the other side of the spectrum with fans trolling him for a drop catch in the 18th over left, right, and center. Yes, it was a high-voltage pressure game. Yes, it was an important match-turning catch. Yes, it was a mistake. But a big NO! to the kind of trolls, abuse, family threats, and attacks the 22-year-old received on social media. Arshdeep received death threats from numerous faceless people hiding behind their anonymous social media handles. The dropped catch might have cost India the game, but the youngster went ahead and bowled the even more critical 20th over of the game with Pakistan needing just seven runs. The left-arm pacer had absolute clarity in his mind and nailed absolutely perfect yorkers, so perfect that he dismissed Asif Ali(the same batter whom he had dropped off Ravi Bishnoi) and took the match to the penultima delivery. Though it wasn’t good enough for India to end up on the winning side, one dropped catch wasn’t good enough for Arshdeep to end up on the toxic side of the internet. Just imagine, the next time Arshdeep is waiting for a catch, under the night sky, in a world cup final, say against Pakistan, such trolls/abuses might just come back to haunt the youngster and might just drop another catch because of the pressure more than anything else. Arshdeep is the same bowler whom India is banking on for a potential specialist death bowler role. Whereas the pressure of nailing Yorkers and keeping the batters under control would be far more than a catch. Such bullying, trolling, and toxic words will result in one thing only—mentally torturing the youngster.
Not for the first or last time!
Remember the World Cup Semifinals of 1996 between India and Sri Lanka, where the fans blazed up the stadium? Well, quite literally! The fans were enraged by India's abject surrender, and some began hurling bottles on the field. The seats were set on fire and the game was stopped by match referee Clive Lloyd. The match referee then awarded the match to Sri Lanka as the crowd refused to mend its ways. While Sri Lankan players shed tears of joy at reaching the finals, a painful image of Vinod Kambli crying as he made his way back to the dressing room remained etched in the memory of cricket fans and marks a poignant moment in India’s cricket history.
The famous India team of 2003 also faced a similar situation after the World Cup Final loss against Australia in 2003. Drunk Indian fans threw home-made bombs on then India Captain, Sourav Ganguly’s residency in West Bengal, whereas posters of Sachin, Kaif, and other players were burnt, ripped off the wall, and garnished with garlands made of shoes. India went through a similar situation again four years later after an early exit from the World Cup. This very moment made even the GOD of India’s cricketing career, Sachin Tendulkar, think about ending his career.
The situation didn’t change even after seven years, as Yuvraj Singh’s house was pelted with stones for his slow innings in the 2014 World T20 finals against Sri Lanka. After the Champions Trophy defeat against Pakistan in 2017, Jasprit Bumrah was trolled brutally all-over social media for his no-ball. The pattern continued in the 2019 T20 world cup after India’s first defeat in a world cup game against Pakistan. This time it was a new target, fast bowler Mohammad Shami, who was bullied and categorised as an anti-nationalist for his poor performance.
Online hatred is not just limited to international cricket, where we have seen these raging comments and online abuse. Even in IPL 2021, Glenn Maxwell came out to support his players when online abuse went overboard. In 2022 as well, after RCB’s defeat in eliminator 2, Dan Christian and his partner were brutally bashed on social media, so much so that Christian had to put up a post requesting the trollers to stop the online hate. It is not just Indian fans spreading the nuisance; Pakistani fans were telecasted throwing their television sets in agony after the World Cup defeat to India in 2014, which ignited the Mauka Mauka campaign. After the semi-finals loss to Australia, Hassan Ali received death threats and stone pelting at his residence after the drop catch in World Cup 2021, which cost Pakistan the game.
Will toxicity stop?
While there is no stopping such online trolling, this results in only one thing – hampering the players' confidence. Such hatred tortures and mentally eats away at the players' ability to perform and ends up in the respective team losing out on potential talented players. The main reason for such social media accounts to go all guns blazing against players is anonymity. This prevents them/their faces from being in public, giving them further freedom to post utterly unhuman posts, which if posted against a normal human who erred in office would be drowned in depression. The love for the game of fans has become the reason for their agitated behavior. So much so that the hatred has burned the bridges of empathy, treating players like machines!