It’s no secret that we love our sports here in India. Cricket, especially, ignites passionate reactions, cheers from fans and high-voltage energy, when our team is doing well. On the flipside, hearing of instances where fans have hurled stones at players’ homes or burned effigies is not uncommon either.
With the advent of social media, it’s become easier for the disgruntled fan to have his voice heard by their favourite celebrities and sportspeople. Unfortunately, the veil of anonymity also helps a nastier side of trolls to emerge, targeting not just the sportsmen, but also their families.
Take for example the case of Mayanti Langer. The famed television presenter and sports journalist has been bearing the brunt of troll attacks, ever since she married Indian cricketer Stuart Binny in 2012.
Stuart’s recent performance in a T20 match versus West Indies saw him give away 32 runs in the single over that he bowled, which eventually ended with India losing the game by one run.
Incessantly harassed by trolls who tagged her, Mayanti wrote an open letter. “I hope no one ever demands the deaths of your loved ones. Taunting me with suicide is shameful… I hope you find love and loyalty. I’ve been working since I was 18. Instead of wasting time calling me a gold-digger, go get a job and earn the right to support your self and your families.” She concluded the letter, writing, “I hope bullying us made you feel better about yourselves, cause otherwise was it really worth it?” (sic).
Mayanti’s is not an isolated case of a spouse or family member of a sportsperson being made a victim of trolling on social media. Cricketer Virat Kohli, too, slammed fans, who pinned the blame of a bad day at work for him, on his girlfriend, Anushka Sharma.
Priya Thalur, wife of Indian pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji says, “It’s unfair to target us (wives and girlfriends). At the end of the day, it’s their game and they put in a lot of hard work. Some of them don’t even have proper funding but they still play the game just for their passion,” she says.
“Most of the days we don’t even get time to spend with them — it’s hard on us too. If the trolls get to see the hard work and time they invest in the game, they probably wouldn’t blame us,” she adds.
Prithi Ashwin, wife of Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has a different take, “As far as trolling goes, just ignore it or have a good laugh at it.”
However, badminton player Jwala Gutta minces no words when she says, “Trolling has become fashionable these days. I usually ignore trolls, but sometimes it gets annoying, especially when people question a sportsperson’s integrity.”
While wives and girlfriends are easy targets, former Indian athlete, Anju Bobby George groans that even her husband, who is also her coach, has come under fire for her performance at times.
“Robert Bobby George is one of the best coaches in the world for long jump. He is India’s youngest Dronacharya awardee. Yet, there have been times when people have said that if Anju trained under another coach, her performance would be better; and that she’s not leaving him only because she’s married to him.”
Tech editor and avid social media user Ivan Mehta explains that it’s up to websites to handle abuse. “Anonymity has always been a part of the Internet, but social media networks should be equipped to purge the content that attacks people. With Twitter, only one party has the benefit of anonymity. A joke or two is fine, but attacking them personally is crossing the line.”
The anonymity is what makes trolling even more annoying, says Jwala. “You can look at the IDs and figure out that these names are not real. I think people get excited when a celebrity replies to them. My parents aren’t very active on social media, but yes this affects them, so they mostly choose to ignore it,” she adds.
