Teams and leagues need to move on from X

It is essential for teams, leagues, and news organizations that advocate for equity and diversity to discontinue their use of the former Twitter platform. Recent years have seen numerous instances where the platform, under its current owner Elon Musk, has engaged in actions warranting widespread outrage. These include reinstating accounts with hateful ideologies, reducing moderation efforts, altering content visibility policies, and facilitating increased targeted abuse, particularly towards women and non-white users. While some accounts, like Sounder at Heart, Ride of the Valkyries, and Nos Audietis, have ceased operations in response to these issues, many major leagues and teams continue to use the site.

Despite bypassing the intricacies of Musk’s manipulation of the algorithm to favor certain viewpoints while suppressing others, a troubling new trend has arisen with the AI bot, Grok, improving its ability to create high-quality images and videos. This advancement has been exploited by trolls and abusers to generate an influx of nonconsensual sexualized images, some depicting minors, and degrading images showing women subjected to violence and assault. Regrettably, the platform’s response to inquiries regarding this disturbing content has been inadequate, and no substantial efforts have been made to combat the proliferation of offensive material.

While individual users can enhance their filters and block problematic accounts to limit exposure to such content, their ongoing use of the platform inadvertently endorses the behavior, thereby legitimizing the site. Particularly influential are large accounts operated by teams and leagues, as they retain substantial followings out of habit or convenience, despite potential discomfort with the platform’s practices. Consequently, user engagement has significantly declined, and click-through rates have plummeted due to the algorithm’s deprioritization of linked content.

As we navigate an era of social media fragmentation without a clear successor to the previous Twitter model, teams and leagues have little to gain from maintaining a presence on the platform. Discontinuing its usage serves as a powerful statement, signifying an organization’s commitment to upholding standards and dissociating from misogynistic and racist conduct. Just as these organizations have chosen to abstain from platforms like Gab and Truth Social, they should make a comparable decision about a platform overflowing with hateful content.

While women’s sports leagues like NWSL, WNBA, and PWHL may lead the charge in departing from the platform, they should not stand alone in this exodus. Major men’s sports leagues in the US, despite publicly advocating against racism and sexism, must also consider severing ties with the platform. Failure to address such egregious behavior would evoke significant public outrage if reported within their organizations or sponsorships.

Critics may label this stance as mere virtue signaling, yet it holds immense significance in revealing an organization’s values to its supporters. Fans are rightfully hesitant to align with entities that compromise their professed principles for the sake of social media traction. It is imperative for teams, leagues, and news organizations to enact tangible measures to demonstrate genuine commitment to female empowerment, black history, equality, LGBTQA+ rights, and other forms of diversity.

In conclusion, it is incumbent upon all stakeholders, from sports teams to news outlets, to sever ties with the platform given its normalization of reprehensible behavior. The time for complacency and complicity has passed, and organizations must take an unequivocal stand against sexism, racism, and xenophobia by disengaging from the platform. Such a bold decision sends a resolute message that an organization’s integrity and values remain uncompromised.