U.S. tennis champion Caroline Garcia is criticizing the behavior of social media users for what she is calling the cyberbullying of athletes.
Garcia just lost in the first round at the Grand Slam tournament. Two years ago, she was a semi-finalist in the U.S. Open match.
Garcia, 30, is from France, but plays in the U.S. Her top rank has been no. 4. She lost to Renata Zarazua on August 27. This was Zarazua’s first time at the U.S. Open, and she is ranked 92nd overall.
Offering examples of “just a few” of the hundreds of online messages she received, when speaking to the press Garcia said people have told her she should kill herself, and have wished death on her mother. She said that at 30 years old it’s easier to take than when she was younger, but the messages take a big emotional toll just the same. Pointing to the effect on younger people with less experience, she said youthful players may be even more adversely affected by online “hate.”
“This is not OK,” Garcia said.
Athletes are already stung after taking a hard loss, the tennis player said, and that they’re humans capable of having hurt feelings even though online trolls don’t seem to realize that. Though there has been a lot of talk about cyberbullying, said Garcia, “no progress has been made.”
It’s hard to see what, if anything, could “make progress.” Human behavior online is often reactive and cruel, due in part to the feeling of anonymity. People will say cruel or abrasive things online that they never would in person.
Garcia said some of the worst offenders are those who bet on sports. Gamblers who lose money on a bet often take it out on the player they seem to think is responsible for their financial losses. She thinks sports teams and tournaments should stop striking deals with betting companies, a practice she said should be left in the past the way teams no longer allow sponsorships from cigarette companies.
Most prominent sports players have experienced online abuse, and have talked about it for years. Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. open champion, said she tries to ignore the online insults and asks her publicist to scroll through her social media feeds first and help point her to only the positive ones.
“I’ve learned the hard way,” she said.
