'Threat Matrix' study reveals football and basketball players 'suffer horrific online abuse'

By Matias Grez, CNN

Updated 1233 GMT (2033 HKT) May 31, 2022

New study reveals extent of abuse footballers and basketball players receive via social media.

(CNN)Leading sports stars are having their mental well-being and performance impacted by «horrific online abuse» and are receiving a «torrent» of hateful messages for showing solidarity with social causes, according to a new study released on Tuesday.

For a number of years, social media companies have been implementing new safeguarding protocols in an attempt to prevent the online abuse of sports stars. But this report — conducted jointly by FIFPro, the worldwide footballers' union, and the NBPA and WNBPA, the unions representing players in the NBA an WNBA — would suggest these organizations still have a lot of work to do.The study covered the period from May to September 2021 and followed the mentions of around 80 footballers playing in Europe and South America and 80 basketball players across the NBA and WNBA, with these athletes totaling 200 million followers.The report revealed that players are receiving hundreds of «abusive» comments, including racist posts and «threatening or violent language.»Read More«Players across sports share similar risk profiles and suffer horrific online abuse in the workplace impacting mental well-being, lifestyle and performance,» reported the study as one of its findings.READ: Jude Bellingham questions whether authorities 'care' about racist abuse directed at Black footballersAthletes that showed support for progressive social issues received a «torrent» of abusive messages.Using technology called the 'Threat Matrix,' data science company Signify Group was able to track more than 7.3 million tweets that were directed at footballers and