In our client media training sessions, we spend a good amount of time going over the social media landscape. During this section we touch on self-sabotage in a digital age. This is where someone may post a comment, photo or video online thinking it’s funny or harmless, but it ends up back-firing in a major way, causing serious personal or professional reputational damage.
We have a few real-life instances we draw from to illustrate the potential harm in sharing controversial content online. Recently, in the US, there was a high-profile case that made headlines which showcased how bad judgement, an immature prank, and social media resulted in unintended negative consequences, reputation damage and hefty fines for a professional sports organisation and their employee.
Shedeur Sanders is a top college American football player and the son of National Football League (NFL) Hall of Famer, Deion Sanders. Sheduer is known to be quite a polarising individual as his ego, off-field antics and attitude often outshine his on-field play.
Earlier this year, Sheduer announced he would be entering the NFL draft – an annual event where professional football teams select college players. Sheduer live-streamed the draft, where he and his father boldly claimed he would be a top five pick, which brought more attention than normal to an individual player in the draft.
Typically, before a player is picked, they receive a phone call from the team about to select them letting them know that their lives are about to change as they enter an elite era of their career. During the NFL draft, and broadcasted live, Scheduer’s phone rang. On the other end was the general manager from an NFL team congratulating him as he would be their next pick. Of course, Scheduer was elated – until he found out it was a prank call.
The prank was masterminded by Jax Ulbrich, the 21-year-old son of a senior coach from another team, and his friend. Jax recorded the whole prank and shared the video online.
What might have been labelled as simply an immature, insensitive or cruel prank quickly snowballed into a PR mess. The video went viral, and people were outraged. Not only was it humiliating for Scheduer, it also raised concerns over data protection and professionalism. While Jax’s father was not directly involved, they did investigate how his son obtained the phone number. It turns out Jax found the number on his father’s unlocked iPad. Because of these various factors, Jax’s father’s employer was pulled into the conversation and forced to make a public statement. Jax and his father had to make public apologies as well.
On top of the reputational ramifications, this case also had financial repercussions as the NFL fined Jax’s father $100,000 and his employer $250,000 for the gaffe.
This is a classic case of self-sabotage – doing something careless and actively sharing it with the world with zero upside for the person posting.
While this could be viewed as a data protection issue – why was an iPad with personal information so easily accessible – this is more of a human behaviour issue. A shameful lapse in judgment that was intentionally amplified by the perpetrator.
This case is also a reminder that sometimes our biggest reputational risks may not be from a major incident. It could be a social media post taken the wrong way that can pull you into a situation and cause brand fallout.
Take the team Jax’s father works for. They were forced to react quickly and clearly. They stated the coach was not part of the prank, they promised to review how sensitive information is handled internally to ensure this does not happen again, and they apologised to Shedeur. While the team handled the situation well, they, as an organisation, really had nothing to do with it but were pulled into the spotlight and ultimately had to pay a fine.
The key takeaway from this cautionary tale is that not everything needs to be shared and to always think twice before you post. As a company, ensure you have a robust social media policy so employees are aware of what they should and should not say online. In addition, it’s important to have regular trainings so your team is aware of the consequences of posts made in an ‘always watching’ digital world. The same can be said for individuals, especially those from a younger generation, where the desire to post online is higher. As always, and most importantly, common sense and kindness go a long way.
