Online personal attacks - Privilege of free speech is abused

Last weekend Ireland’s rugby team visited Edinburgh and contrived to lose a match they should have won easily and, as is usual when something like this happens, the commentary can be pretty stark, some of it even unforgiving, more utterly disproportionate.

The most strident assessments usually, sometimes gleefully, rub salt into an open and tender wound. Coaches, players and managers — and their family and friends — may not always respect the views expressed but if they are given honestly and the author is identified, as they always are in the traditional media, they can force themselves to accept that negative commentary sometimes goes with the territory. Some even learn from it.

However, the tsunami of anonymous, poisonous and — frankly — deranged online commentary directed at some of those involved with the Irish team last Sunday, especially coach Declan Kidney and to a lesser degree Ronan O’Gara, crosses a line and is utterly unacceptable. These bullying, angry, incoherent and deeply offensive attacks show the very dark, destructive side of social media. Unfortunately, the tirades directed at Kidney and some of his players are just part of a too prevalent characteristic in out-of-control, anonymous commentary on social media. Kidney and O’Gara are not by any means the first — and they won’t by any means be the last — individuals to be unfairly eviscerated by the unaccountable and cowardly.