Donaghy calls on GAA to tackle keyboard warriors
Kieran Donaghy has called on the GAA to do all in their power to disband online discussion forums associated with Gaelic Games.
The 2006 footballer of the year was an advocate for a safer internet before former Love Island presenter Caroline Flack took her own life at the weekend having suffered torrents of abuse from online trolls.
Last year, Donaghy encouraged people to be harder on those who abuse and bully others online and suggested social media companies insist that account holders must sign up for passports to make them the identifiable.
The GAA have their own social media guidelines but the former Kerry star, speaking at the launch of the 18th series of Laochra Gael, said he would love to see them crack down on forums where players are often the subject of vile remarks.
“If the GAA was to do one thing, I’d shut down everyone one of those forums. They are such a negative forum, a lot of poison inside in them and people giving out. And there is literally no need for it because 90% of the people don’t have a clue what they are talking about anyway but it gives them a massive voice to talk about people, getting personal with people. I’d shut down all the forums. I’d shut them down.”
Donaghy appreciates most of such websites sell themselves as supporters’ message boards but he considers them toxic. “I always say if you’re on a team and you have lots of positive fellas around the buzz is positive.
“But if you’re in a room with 20 negative people it just rumbles on. They feed each other and they’re off and they’re uncontrollable at home on the keyboard or whatever.
They are fans’ forums but I would urge the GAA to cut them out because I don’t know if any good comes out of them. Show me any good that comes out of them and show me that I’m wrong.
“There is enough (ordinary) social media out there to let you know if a game is off or on or whatever. These forums .... all they’re for is negativity.”
Through his annual Easter basketball camp, Donaghy is acutely conscious of what impact social media has on younger generations.
“It’s (verbal/online abuse) something that I was always able to handle very easily. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s through the sport, maybe it’s the adversity I faced on the pitch that allows me to handle it better but I’m fearful (for youngsters).
“It’s tough for young players coming through, everything is scrutinised that bit more… social media, I use it for work but it’s a dangerous tool in many ways and I think it is wrong that people can launch into an account and say and do what they want to people.
“My basketball camp is on again this Easter and I do two 15-minute talks for both groups the first day about online bullying on social media and how to handle it and not to be a part of it because I think they might take it bit better from me.
“We are guilty of it ourselves — you see people might have an opinion and they put it up and there’s a bite back in the comments. It’s not just a disagreement — there is bite there constantly. And there’s an old saying if you don’t have anything good to say don’t say anything at all. If more people took on that it would be no harm.
“What happened Caroline Flack is tragic. That’s a very highlighted incident but it’s happening all over the world right now, kids taking their own lives because of what is going on (online).
“You know, back in the day you’d take a hiding, you’d go to your room and you lick your wounds and come back out. You wouldn’t have to worry about waking up in the morning seeing more stuff.
“It is very tough on the younger generation. Whether they bring it in as a school topic or something has to be looked at to help them how to handle it.”
Donaghy was part of the Kerry panel in 2018 when Shane Enright received a poisoned letter saying he should “jump off a cliff, and take two or three other players with him”.
That episode angered the Austin Stacks man.
People need to cop on. Sportspeople are trying their best to win for their teams. Even professional teams maybe some can be called into question sometimes and rightfully so whether they don’t want to be in the club or contract wise or whatever.
"But for GAA players and GAA managers they shouldn’t have that abuse. It’s not just Gaelic football, it’s in everything, it’s rugby. People just need to take stock.
“All of us are old enough to take it and if you write a bad article you get a bit of stick… we are all old enough to take it but young people might not be and we need to look out for that as much as we try to help them on the pitch or be it school or clubs.”
