The NCAA recently conducted a study on the prevalence of abusive social media messages directed towards college athletes, coaches, and officials. Using an artificial intelligence-based algorithm, the research analyzed messages from recent championship events in six sports and found that approximately one in five posts were classified as abusive. Surprisingly, 12% of these abusive messages were related to sports betting.
The study revealed that during March Madness, about 80% of the 72,000 flagged messages were received by female athletes participating in the basketball tournament. These female athletes received triple the amount of abuse compared to their male counterparts, with one athlete reportedly receiving over 1,400 negative messages in just two weeks. The NCAA report emphasized that this type of online harassment can have serious consequences on the mental health and performance of individuals, both professionally and personally.
NCAA President Charlie Baker expressed concern over the findings, stating that the organization is committed to addressing and reducing the harassment and vitriol that student-athletes face on social media. He highlighted the importance of taking action to support those affected by such behavior, even if they claim to be unaffected by the messages.
The Threat Matrix AI model used in the study categorized the abusive messages into 16 different categories, including racism, sexual harassment, and violence. Interestingly, the distribution of abusive messages was relatively consistent across various sports such as volleyball, softball, football, gymnastics, basketball, and baseball.
In conclusion, the NCAA’s study sheds light on the alarming prevalence of abusive social media messages directed towards individuals involved in college sports, particularly female athletes. The organization has pledged to take steps to address this issue and provide support to those impacted by online harassment. It is crucial for society to recognize the harmful effects of cyberbullying and work towards creating a safer and more respectful online environment for all individuals.