Shady Sports Moments Old-School Athletes Never Had to Deal With
The contemporary sports landscape features all kinds of technological advancements, many of them positive.
Yet, new innovations aren't without their unfortunate side effects. Hacking, tech glitches and the rise of the social media troll are all issues today's athletes have to deal with that their old-school counterparts did not.
The term "old-school" is purposefully vague here, but it essentially just refers to athletes who played before the Internet age.
Athletes today have a lot to deal with as a result of technology, but don't feel too bad for them. Milestones like free agency and multimillion dollar television broadcast deals have made sure they are well compensated for putting up with the occasional selfie-crazed fan.
Subtweets
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In March, Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James fired off some tweets that certainly appeared to be criticisms of his teammate Kyrie Irving.
New York Giants wide receiver Odell Bechkam Jr. and Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman have been beefing hard since December. Many-a-subtweet has been thrown around, namely this one from Beckham when Norman signed with Washington: "Buy ur way outta jail but you can't buy freedom…"
Certainly athletes have always dealt with shade, but the subtweeting revolution has brought forth an entirely new type of passive aggressive criticism for them to deal with. How do you handle it when another athlete is probably shading you on the Internet?
Tablet Problems
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Technology is influencing sports on all levels these days—from robotic practice dummies to tablets in MLB dugouts—the sports tech boom is in full swing.
Speaking of tablets, anyone who has a technologically challenged older relative or two knows that business can be hard. In fact, new technology of any kind generally comes with a learning curve.
In 2014, Kevin Clark of the The Wall Street Journal reported several NFL veterans couldn't remember to keep their tablets/digital playbooks charged.
In January, the New England Patriots' Microsoft tablets malfunctioned in the middle of the team's AFC Championship matchup with the Denver Broncos.
You know what rarely malfunctions? Pen and paper.
Selfie Mania
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Selfies are the new autographs, so in that way, athletes have long been dealing with fans attempting to secure a memento from them.
Selfies are unique, however, in that fans don't actually need the player's permission. They don't need the player to say, agree to do anything other than exist.
After Super Bowl 50, one fan took a selfie with a very unhappy Cam Newton. The Carolina Panthers quarterback certainly didn't appear to willfully comply.
In 2015, a tennis fan stormed a court at the French Open in an attempt to take a selfie with Roger Federer. Federer was "not happy" about it, according to Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press.
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Glitchy Replay
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Look, there's an argument to be made that instant replay in general is an undesirable byproduct of sports technology. However, because that would be entirely subjective, let's stick to something that is definitely a bummer about replay—glitches.
In April, a problem with the system at PNC Park resulted in unlimited challenges for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. That might sound like an advantage, but it also sounds like a recipe for a mega-long game.
Definitely disadvantageous was the slow motion replay malfunction that caused the Kansas City Royals to miss out on a crucial double play in a 2015 loss to the Cleveland Indians.
Besides actual technical issues, players also have to deal with ongoing, never-ending debates about the existence and scope of replay itself.
Email Security Leaks
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Old-school athletes did not have to worry about their social security numbers getting leaked via email.
In May, the Milwaukee Bucks announced they had accidentally provided the 2015 tax information for all employees, including players, to a person pretending to be the team president.
W-2s, including social security numbers, were sent to the responsible party. In response, the Bucks alerted all affected employees and plan to provide credit monitoring for three years.
Part of the team's statement, via Shams Charania of The Vertical (h/t Yahoo Sports), read, "We take this incident, and the privacy and security of our employees, very seriously. We immediately launched an investigation, which is aggressive and ongoing."
Internet Is Forever
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The Internet is forever, and once something is out there, it can't be taken back.
Many athletes are familiar with this concept, since many of them have (accidentally and intentionally) sent ill-advised material out into the Interwebs.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green posted a Snapchat video of someone (probably him) driving a car at 118 mph on a public highway. He deleted the video, but obviously the story still made the rounds.
The Philadelphia 76ers asked NBA Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo to tweet a congratulatory note to the team in the event it won the NBA draft lottery. Mutombo accidentally fired the tweet several hours early, reigniting old conspiracy theories about the lottery being rigged.
Twitter Hacking
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Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil had his world turned upside down on NFL draft night.
Minutes before the first round began, during which Tunsil was projected to be a top-10 pick, his verified Twitter account posted a photo of what appeared to be Tunsil smoking a bong.
Tunsil was eventually selected at No. 13, but—assuming he would have been taken higher if not for the hack—he also lost out on millions.
Of course, Twitter hacking does have one potential benefit for new-era athletes. They could, hypothetically, claim it as the explanation for an ill-advised post. Hypothetically.
Database Hacking
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There's also just regular old hacking.
In 2015, the St. Louis Cardinals were outed for hacking into the Houston Astros' database to gain information about players. The FBI and Justice Department got involved. So, it was a big deal.
Fast forward to January 2016 when Cardinals front office staffer Chris Correa admitted to the deed. Apparently, Correa gained system access through the account of a high-ranking Astros official.
According to Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle, the official's password was the name of a baseball player and hadn't been changed in years.
Update your passwords, folks. The danger is real.
Social Media Hate
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Social media has brought up a whole host of issues for today's athletes, not the least of which is providing a convenient forum for trolls.
Back in the (vaguely defined) day, negative fan commentary was largely relegated to in-stadium heckling. Now, it's painfully simple to tweet at an athlete, expressing everything from adoration to loathing.
In October, Michigan punter Blake O'Neill bobbled the football on a play that ultimately lost his team a game against Michigan State. People on Twitter let him have it, chastising the then-22-year-old and even urging him to "quit the team."
It gets worse.
In November, one person actually tweeted to Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell that he or she was "glad" Bell tore his ACL.
Unflattering Memes
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Athletes: beware. If you play less than perfectly at any moment throughout your entire career, you could become the subject of an unflattering Internet meme. In fact, even making an odd facial expression could get you the meme treatment—right, LeBron James?
Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a crucial field goal in the playoffs, and social media blew up on him. Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista got punched in the face during a brawl, and that punch became an Internet meme almost immediately.
Even the great Michael Jordan is not immune—one moment of emotion at a Hall of Fame speech in 2009 has turned him into the most famous sports meme ever.
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