Online safety for coaches and officials
Being online is helpful for sport coaches, officials and managers. Using apps, recording videos and staying up to date on social media all help with communication and sport performance.
Just like safety and respect are needed in-person at sport, they’re important in online spaces too. Issues like bullying, racism and harassment can go beyond the sidelines and into social media feeds or website comment sections – following people wherever they go.
Whether you’re a professional or volunteer, this page has information to help you stay safe online.
On this page:
What is online abuse?
Sport coaches, managers and officials – including referees and umpires – are online each day as part of their sporting lives.
Although we can use online connection for good purposes, it’s important to be aware of the risk of negative online behaviour. Experiences like being targeted by abusive posts or messages, or being threatened online, or dealing with unwanted contact can affect your wellbeing and sense of safety.
Some types of abuse may not seem so bad if they happen only once – but if they are ongoing or if harmful content is shared widely, they can have serious mental and physical impacts. This is why eSafety helps deal with serious forms of harm such as cyberbullying of a child or young person, adult cyber abuse (18 or older) or 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 a coach or official?
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 how you can have safer and more positive experiences online at your club or organisation.
If you’re a coach or official with a public profile, whether it’s local or national, find more information on ways to stay safe online with our In the sporting spotlight page.
Real stories
‘I’m a coach at my local sports club. One of the players was not comfortable with having me, a non-binary person, as their coach.’
‘Whenever I gave this player directions, he would get all worked up and yell and scream at me. Pretty quickly, his abuse shifted online and he started making horrible comments about me on the club’s social media pages. Things started getting worse and before long, he was also sending me DMs saying that he was going to bash me the next time he saw me. This went on for months and it started to take a toll on my mental health. I was lucky to have the support of the other players and he was eventually asked to leave the club. I also reported him to eSafety and they helped me to deal with the online abuse I was getting. A positive thing to come out of this situation was that, together as a team, we created a set of standards and rules for the club’s social pages to clearly state what we considered to be acceptable behaviour online and to help protect the club members from online harm.’ – Sam*
Find more online safety stories from the LGBTIQ+ community in our LGBTIQ+ learning lounge.
Bringing online safety culture to your sport
As a leader, you can have a positive influence on online safety in your sport. Communicating and reinforcing positive online values with your team, squad or group can make a difference to the online experiences you all have as part of your sport.
Expectations
- Highlight that what happens as part of sport matters, both online and offline.
- Reinforce values such as respect, kindness and safety.
- Be clear on how to treat each other and competitors online and offline.
- Discuss how to deal with conflict within the team.
Boundaries and rules
- Outline how and where online communication will occur.
- Highlight sport rules, including for communication with children and young people.
- Discuss appropriate use of photos and videos.
Reporting
- Encourage athletes and members to come forward with online issues.
- Highlight the ways to deal with online abuse in sport, including how to report different types of abuse.
- Encourage being an upstander and calling out online abuse, when it is safe to do so.
Online safety examples for coaches and officials
Click on the + symbol to find out what to do and how to deal with each situation.
I received a direct message to my social media account with offensive comments about a match result. I’m not sure who it came from. What can I do?
- Reach out to your sport organisation for support. If the message 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 social media platform used to send the messages – The eSafety Guide has links to report on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat 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 for you 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.
If you are in Australia and there is an immediate danger or risk of harm call Triple Zero (000).
I’m receiving unwanted text messages from a player questioning my decisions. What can I do?
In this situation, it’s best to reach out to your sport organisation for support. As the messages are coming from a member, they may take action under sport policies. You might also consider:
- Collecting evidence. Take screenshots and record what has happened, in case you need to make a report. Read more about how to collect evidence.
- Reaching out to the person who sent the messages, if you feel comfortable to do so. Message them privately and tell them their behaviour is not OK.
A player has told me they are being bullied online from teammates. What can I do?
- Reach out to your sport organisation for support. As the messages are between members, your sport organisation may take action under sport policies.
- Advise the player not to respond to the abuse but to collect evidence. Ask them to take screenshots and record what has happened, including the account names and the platform where it happened. This is important proof if they decide to report it to the online platform or service or to eSafety. You can show them eSafety’s pages about how to collect evidence, including how to screenshot on a Mac, Windows PC, iPad or iPhone, or Android device.
In line with your policies, discuss what the player would like to happen next. This could include one or more options:
- Report the harmful content to the online service or platform where it happened – The eSafety Guide has links to report on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp and many other common ones. If the platform doesn't help, and the abuse is very serious, they can report it to eSafety.
- Stop contact and tighten security. Let the player know they can use in-app functions to mute, ignore or hide the account. After they have collected evidence and reported the abuse, they can also delete the messages and block the other account. It’s a good idea for them to review their 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. The player might feel overwhelmed or distressed by this experience. Share with them eSafety’s advice on how to manage the impacts of cyberbullying or adult cyber abuse. You can also offer information around counselling and support services that can help them.
You may also need to contact your administrator in case there are follow-up actions to take, such as:
- recording details of the incident and actions taken, according to your club and sport policies
- making sure to monitor and check the abuse has stopped, and the person targeted feels safe and supported
- communicating and reinforcing positive online values with all members.
Someone has threatened me on social media. What can I do?
- If you are in Australia and there is an immediate danger or risk of harm call Triple Zero (000).
- Reach out to your sport organisation for support. If the message 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.
- If someone is threatening you over intimate images, eSafety can help have the content removed or stop the threats. If you’re being blackmailed, don’t pay or give the blackmailer more money or intimate content. Stop all contact with them. Read out page on How to deal with sexual extortion for more advice.
- For all other types of threats, report to the social media platform where it happened – The eSafety Guide has links to report on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat and many other common ones. If the platform doesn't help, and the abuse is very serious, report it 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 for you 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, adult cyber abuse or image-based abuse. Make sure to also talk to someone you trust or contact a counselling and support service for more support.
An under-18 member contacted me directly about training times and didn’t include their parent or carer in the message. What can I do?
Make sure any communication between adult and child members of a sport club always includes their parent or carer in the conversation. In this situation:
- don’t respond to the young person
- contact their parent or carer and let them know what’s happened, passing on any relevant information the child requested and asking the parent to make sure they are included in all communication in future
- discuss the matter with your club and refer to your sport policies.
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
