Online safety for young people in sport

Luca missed a goal in a big match. That night, someone from another team posted a video showing it. Lots of people responded to it with nasty comments and DMs.

How it felt:

• Luca felt humiliated and didn’t want to show up to the next training session.

What Luca did:

• Luca told his coach and team manager, who said to take screenshots of the posts and messages as proof of what was happening. Together, they spoke to club officials who worked with the other club to get the content down.

Remember, you can also report to eSafety if the situation gets really serious. Find more advice in our page, Bullying online.

Alex was competing at a carnival where a club photographer was taking photos. The next day, a club official added the photos to the team’s website, including many of Alex.

How it felt:

• Alex was uncomfortable with the photos of her being shared without her permission.

What Alex did: 

• Alex asked her team manager to have the photos taken down. The club officials removed the content from the website and made sure photos of Alex weren’t shared again. 

Find more information and tips in our page, Consent for sharing photos and videos.

Maya’s assistant coach is much older than her. He started messaging Maya on her phone late at night, asking personal questions and saying she looked ‘grown up’ in her training gear.

How it felt:

• It felt uncomfortable and confusing. Maya was unsure whether she was overreacting, and stressed about going to training.

What Maya did:

• Maya stopped replying and saved the messages. She told her mum, who helped her report it to the club. The club took it seriously and removed the coach from the program.

It’s not OK for any adult to act this way with someone under 18. If something like this happens to you, it’s not your fault and you should speak up. Find more advice in our page, Unsafe contact and ‘grooming’. 

Adam was getting changed out of his team uniform. He was naked when one of his teammates snapped a photo of him and shared it to a team group chat.

How it felt:

• Adam felt distressed and stopped going to sport.

What Adam did: 

• Adam told his parents and they helped him report it immediately to eSafety. After making the report, eSafety helped to stop the image from being shared further. Adam’s parents also told the club officials, who took it very seriously, and the teammate faced suspension.

It’s important to remember: Sharing a nude or intimate image or video without the consent of the person shown is illegal. If this happens to you, you can report it and get help. Find more advice on our page, My nudes have been shared.

Mia set up a team group chat but deliberately left out Carla, a teammate she thought was letting the side down. Carla eventually found out.

How it felt for Carla: 

• She felt excluded and humiliated. Carla stopped coming to training.

What happened next: 

• The coach found out, asked Mia to delete the chat, and spoke to the whole team about inclusion and respect. 

Leaving someone out on purpose is a form of bullying, online or offline. Find more information in our pages, Bullying online and I’ve been called out. 

Jed’s team lost and he blamed the umpire. He posted a clip of the umpire on his socials with the caption #no_idea. Others shared it and left harsh comments.

How it felt for the umpire: 

• The umpire saw the post and felt unsafe in the role.

What happened next: 

• Jed’s club got involved, contacted his parents, and required him to take down the post. He was also benched for the next game.

Referees and officials deserve respect on and off the field. Publicly humiliating them online isn’t just unkind, it can drive people out of sport. Find more information in our pages, Bullying online and I’ve been called out.

Raj missed out on selection for the team. Chris was chosen instead. Raj created a fake account called ‘UselessChris’ and started leaving comments on official posts about the team. The comments kept getting removed, but people were screenshotting and resharing them.

How it felt for Chris: 

• Chris felt unsafe and anxious, and didn’t enjoy being selected anymore.

What happened next: 

• The club traced the fake account back to Raj and involved his parents. He faced a suspension and had to attend a behaviour program.

Even when you’re disappointed or angry, targeting someone else online is never OK. Fake accounts don’t hide you as well as you might think. Find more information in our pages, Bullying online and Trolling.

Being aware of what you post online about yourself or about others can help you stay safer both online and at your sport.

Online harm doesn’t always come from strangers. eSafety’s research shows young people can sometimes be the ones causing harm against the peers and friends around them. This can often be out of anger, disappointment or pressure in the moment.

Before you post, ask yourself:

• Would I say this to someone’s face?
• How would I feel if someone posted this about me?
• Could this hurt someone, even if that’s not my intention?
• Could this get me in trouble with my club, my sport or even the law?

Your actions online can seriously affect the person you target and your own future in sport. A post made in anger can spread fast, be seen by thousands, and be very hard to take back.

Every sport has codes of conduct that cover online behaviour. Doing the wrong thing online can lead to real consequences, including being suspended or banned from the sport you love.

Remember, anything you post, comment or share online can form part of your digital footprint – and can be found by other people who search your name. Check our pages about managing your digital footprint and protecting your personally identifiable information for more advice.

No one should take, share or post a photo or video of you online without your permission. This includes content from games, training sessions or club events.

You have the right to know if a game or event is being live streamed and the right to say no to be shown, even if the person asking is older or in charge. At the same time, you should also check consent before sharing content of others.

If a photo or video of you is shared online without your consent, speak with someone at your sport who can help get the content removed. It might also be good to check what permissions they have on file and ask them to change it if you’re uncomfortable with future posts.

Find more information and tips in our page, Consent for sharing photos and videos.

Most adults in sport are there to support you. But sometimes an adult may act in a way that’s not OK, even if they seem friendly, popular or important in your club.

Watch out if an adult:

• asks personal or private questions about you
• sends you messages that are ‘flirty’ or compliment you a lot
• asks for photos or videos of you
• makes comments about your body or appearance
• tries to meet up with you alone or in secret
• asks you to keep secrets from your parents or carers.

If something like this happens to you, it’s not your fault. Even if they’re a coach, volunteer or official, you can speak up. You don’t have to deal with it alone.

It’s important that you don’t keep it a secret. Maybe you’re scared of what the person will do if you tell someone else, or that they’ll get into trouble. You may also be worried that you’ll get into trouble. Or you may not want to give up feeling special. These are all understandable reactions. But it’s important to tell a trusted adult, like a family member or teacher, so they can make sure you’re safe.

There are rules in place at your sport to help keep you safe. With support from a trusted adult, you can talk to someone at you club who can help, such as a coach, manager, or club leader/official. Read the advice on this page about how to get help if something has happened.

If you see something online that’s not OK, you can make a difference. If you choose to support someone who’s being bullied or abused online, you’ve chosen to be an upstander.

There are lots of ways you can be an upstander while keeping yourself safe too. These are some examples:

• Check in with the person being targeted. You can send them a message privately to let them know you’ve seen what’s happened and you’ve got their back.
• If you feel confident and safe, speak up about the bullying or abuse you see online. It could be as simple as posting a comment, GIF or meme that says ‘This is not OK’.
• Help the person being targeted to make a report. Check out The eSafety Guide for links on how to report on different social media, games and apps. If the platform hasn’t helped, you can also follow the steps to report to eSafety.
• Tell a trusted adult or someone at the club, so they can help.

Read our page, How to be an upstander, for more tips on how you can make a difference.