Many athletes are role models to not only children but adults as well. They have to maintain certain standard of being professional no matter the circumstances. It hard knowing that thousands to millions of people have different perceptions of a certain athlete either loving him or hating him. "Twitter has also given us a chance to get a better understanding of professional athletes. The ones that use this medium not only become more accessible to fans, but also to their peers." Most of these athletes have to stay calm, cool, and collected. But one activity that questions their character is social media.
Many athletes want to connect with their fans so they create Twitter accounts to keep in touch. Some are good at ignoring the hate but others can't stand idle anymore verbally attacking the person who tweets negative messages publicly. According to Bleacher Report, "Recently, Twitter wars have captured massive attention. Because an athlete is safe behind a computer screen, talking smack becomes an easy task. Relationships between competitors take on a virtual facet where boundaries are few." Now many other followers see this and begin to judge the players character and values.
Bleacher Report gathered up information creating a top 10 Twitter feuds between athletes and fans on Twitter. Some players hav to defend their own but others just embarrass themselves Many in the industry of sports have suggested not to make any social media accounts in order to stay away from any infractions or arguments. Even leagues do not condone social media for its athletes. They charge heavy fines for any negativity on Twitter or social media. The leagues want to be a fan- friendly forum so that mainly children can say that they have spoken to someone who they idolize.