BSUK + BSF join Social Media Boycott to Protest Online Abuse
Tue 27 Apr 2021
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – BaseballSoftballUK (BSUK), the national development agency for baseball and softball in the United Kingdom, and the British Softball Federation (BSF), the National Governing Body for softball, will join charity Kick it Out and football organisations across the country in boycotting all social media this weekend to protest racist abuse and discrimination online. The four-day boycott, supported by the Football Association, Premier League, The Barclay's FA Women's Super League and others will take place from 1500 BST on 30 April until 2359 BET on 3 May 2021.
Major League Baseball held their annual celebration of Jackie Robinson last week, commemorating the player who became the first Black man to play in MLB and break the colour barrier. Across baseball, countless stories were shared around the world about Mr. Robinson’s impact and how much integration of the game meant to them. Unfortunately, this celebration occurred against the backdrop of continued online player abuse in football here in the UK.
BSUK and the BSF have taken the decision to support and stand in solidarity with the athletes and members of our community who have been on the receiving end of vile, racist, discriminatory, and other forms of abuse online.
As both BaseballSoftballUK and the British Softball Federation are small entities, boycotting social media severely limits the ability to communicate and promote our sports. Simply put, our organisations need social media more than the big tech companies need us. However, both BSUK and the BSF strongly believe that the level of online abuse has reached the point where action is required, regardless of how detrimental it is to our organisation in the short term.
“The continued tolerance of racial abuse and discrimination on social media platforms is unacceptable,” said BSUK CEO John Boyd. “While we are a small part of this larger movement, we hope that the social media companies hear this message loud and clear: the time for action is now.”
Baseball and softball clubs across the UK are encouraged to join this weekend’s boycott and resources will be shared on both BSUK and the BSF’s social media prior to the boycott taking effect.
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Contact:
Chris Knoblock
Public Relations Officer & Sports Broadcaster
+44 (0) 7376 297751
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
