Online safety for athletes and competitors
Being online is part of sporting life. For athletes and competitors, using social media and other online platforms is all part of the game.
If you’re a professional athlete, rising star or a weekend warrior, take a look at the information on this page to help keep you safer online.
On this page:
What is online abuse?
There are a lot of positives from being online as part of sport. You might go online to share photos with your team group chat, check a training or event schedule, livestream or record a game, keep track of your fitness level and performance, or celebrate a great moment.
But there’s also a risk of negative online experiences, because poor conduct is not limited to the field, pool or court. It can include:
- teasing, name calling, put downs or abusive language
- bullying
- being pressured into sexting or sending nudes
- being threatened
- unwanted contact
- grooming by a sexual predator.
Online abuse can affect the targeted person’s mental and physical health and sense of safety, especially if the abuse is ongoing or if harmful content is shared widely. This is why eSafety helps deal with serious forms of harm such as cyberbullying of a child under 18, adult cyber abuse (18 or older) and image-based abuse (sometimes known as ‘revenge porn’ or ‘sextortion’).
Understanding how to recognise different types of online abuse can help you work out what’s happening to you.
How can I deal with online abuse?
Online abuse is never OK, and eSafety is here to help. In some cases, the person responsible for the online abuse may be another member of your sport. Other times it may be a non-member or someone completely unknown to you. No matter what the situation is, experiencing online abuse can be seriously distressing.
Remember, you don’t have to deal with online abuse on your own. It’s a good idea to talk to someone you trust, like a teammate, friend or family member. They can also help you report the abuse.
If you experience online abuse:
Contact your sport organisation for help – they may have policies around online safety in place.
Follow the steps to report serious online abuse:
- Collect evidence – take screenshots of what has happened and where.
- Report it:
- Harmful posts, comments, messages and profiles should be reported to the online platform or service first. If they don’t help, and the abuse is very serious, report it to eSafety.
- Sharing or threatening to share an intimate image or video of you without your consent is image-based abuse – it can be reported to eSafety immediately unless you’re being blackmailed. If you’re being blackmailed, go to our advice on How to deal with sexual extortion.
- Stop contact, tighten your security settings and prevent content from being shared further.
- Get more support – with strategies to manage the impacts of cyberbullying, adult cyber abuse or image-based abuse. You can also find counselling and support services that are right for you.
Find more detailed advice on how to deal with online abuse in sport if this happens to you or a targeted member in your sport.
How can I stay safe online as an athlete or competitor?
There are a few ways we can all be safer online in sport:
- Set up for safety – regularly review account privacy and security settings.
- Get familiar with your sport policies – look at information about online conduct and making a complaint.
- Manage your digital reputation – remember that what you say and do online matters.
- Champion fair play online – support respectful and kind online behaviour, call out online abuse and help people around you.
- Know how to report serious online abuse – check the steps, so you know what to do if it ever happens to you or someone you know.
You can also explore eSafety’s 8 ways to stay safe online in sport to learn different strategies for safer and more positive experiences online.
If you’re an athlete with a public profile, whether in your local community or at a national level, find extra tips on ways to stay safe online on our In the sporting spotlight page.
Be a positive voice in your sport
Athletes and competitors can have a positive influence and help create a kinder online world. Always communicate with respect, and share positive stories and encouragement.
If you notice a teammate being targeted by online bullying, hate or abuse, there are ways you can help:
- Reach out to them. Ask if they’re OK and tell them you support them. Let them know there are ways to get help. Encourage them to let your sport organisation know too. You can also show them our advice on how to manage the impacts of cyberbullying (if they’re under 18), adult cyber abuse (if they’re 18 or older) or image-based abuse.
- Call out the harm. If you feel confident and safe, speak up about the poor conduct or abuse. It could be as simple as posting ‘this is not on’. Or you could leave a positive comment, so the negative content has less impact.
- Say something to the person responsible for the abuse, if you know who it is and feel safe doing so. Message them privately to tell them the behaviour is not OK.
Online safety examples for athletes and competitors
Click on the + symbol to find out what to do and how to deal with each situation.
I’m competing at an event and someone sent me a racist message on social media criticising my performance. What can I do?
- Reach out to your sport organisation for support. If the message came from a member, your sport organisation may take action under sport policies.
- Collect evidence. Take screenshots and record what has happened, including the account name and the social media platform where it happened. This is important proof if you decide to report it to the online platform or service or to eSafety. Read more about how to collect evidence, including how to screenshot on a Mac, Windows PC, iPad or iPhone, or Android device.
- Report the harmful content to the social media platform used to send the messages – The eSafety Guide has links to report on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and many other common ones. If the platform doesn’t help, and the abuse is very serious, make a report to eSafety.
- Stop further contact and tighten security. Use in-app functions to mute, ignore or hide the account targeting you. After you have collected evidence and reported the abuse, you can also delete the messages and block the other account. It’s a good idea to review your security and privacy settings too – there’s information in The eSafety Guide on how to do this for different apps, games and social media.
- Get more help. You don’t need to deal with this on your own. See our advice on how to manage the impacts of cyberbullying or adult cyber abuse. Make sure to also talk to someone you trust or contact a counselling and support service for more support.
Someone has shared a photo of me at a training session without my consent. What can I do?
- Reach out to your sport organisation for support. If your sport club has shared the photo, ask your sport organisation about the policies related to using cameras and recording devices.
- Reach out to the person responsible, if you know them and feel comfortable to do so. You could ask them to delete the photo or take it down from the platform where it was posted.
If someone has shared a nude or sexual image of you without your consent, this is image-based abuse, and you can make a report to eSafety straight away.
Someone has posted an upsetting meme of me missing a goal. What can I do?
- Reach out to your sport organisation for support. If the meme came from a member, they may take action under sport policies.
- Collect evidence. Take screenshots and record what has happened, including the account name and the social media platform where it happened. This is important proof if you decide to report it to the online platform or service or to eSafety. Read more about how to collect evidence, including how to screenshot on a Mac, Windows PC, iPad or iPhone, or Android device.
- Report the harmful content to the online platform or service used to share the meme – The eSafety Guide has links to report on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and many other common ones. If the platform doesn’t help, and the abuse is very serious, make a report to eSafety.
- Stop further contact and tighten security. Use in-app functions to mute, ignore or hide the account targeting you. After you have collected evidence and reported the abuse, you can also delete the messages and block the other account. It’s a good idea to review your security and privacy settings too – there’s information in The eSafety Guide on how to do this for different apps, games and social media.
- Get more help. You don’t need to deal with this on your own. See our advice on how to manage the impacts of cyberbullying or adult cyber abuse. Make sure to also talk to someone you trust or contact a counselling and support service for more support.
On our squad group chat others are repeatedly criticising me and saying I let the team down. What can I do?
- Reach out to your sport organisation for support. Since the messages are coming from a member, they may take action under sport policies.
- Collect evidence. Take screenshots and record what has happened, including the account name and the social media platform where it happened. This is important proof if you decide to report it to the online platform or service or to eSafety. Read more about how to collect evidence, including how to screenshot on a Mac, Windows PC, iPad or iPhone, or Android device.
- Report it. If the content is harming you, report to the online platform or service where the abuse is happening – The eSafety Guide has links to report on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat and many other common ones. If the platform doesn’t help, and the abuse is very serious, make a report to eSafety.
- Stop further contact and tighten security. Use in-app functions to mute, ignore or hide the account targeting you. After you have collected evidence and reported the abuse, you can also delete the messages and block the other account. It’s a good idea to review your security and privacy settings too – there’s information in The eSafety Guide on how to do this for different apps, games and social media.
- Get more help. You don’t need to deal with this on your own. See our advice on how to manage the impacts of cyberbullying or adult cyber abuse. Make sure to also talk to someone you trust or contact a counselling and support service for more support.
You can also get help and support from one of these counselling services
Kids Helpline
5 to 25 year olds. All issues. Confidential phone counselling available all day, every day. Online chat available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Last updated: 01/11/2023
