Social media’s growing influence has impact on the NFL

Lord George Gordon Byron once said, “And, after all, what is a lie? ‘Tis but The truth in masquerade.”

For enthusiasts of American football, truth has been difficult to come by in past weeks. As for late sports culture, power is now in the hands of the twitter follower, the Facebook poster and the once mighty and recently resurrected blogger.

The NFL is now a wrinkled conglomerate of imposing law suits. Ray Rice, running back for the Baltimore Ravens, punched out his fiance in an elevator in February. Jonathan Dwyer, running back for the Arizona Cardinals, broke his wife’s nose with a head-butt in July, the following day punching his wife and throwing a shoe at his 17-month-old son. Greg Hardy, defensive end for the Carolina Panthers, was found guilty of assaulting his former girlfriend and threatening to kill her. Adrian Peterson, running back for the Minnesota Vikings, is currently under spotlight for excessively whipping his four-year-old son with sticks and belts.

One word can describe the status of the NFL right now — problems. These aren’t your typical #whitegirlproblems or your “Find the exponent of x” problems, these issues have enraged an internet-bred country ripe with indignation.

The first step in this 12-step process to NFL Hell was the TMZ elevator video release of Ray Rice actually knocking his then fiance out. After the video was made public, steps two through 11 ensued.

Ray Rice bench-pressed 23 reps of 225 lbs in the 2008 NFL draft; I’m sure a punch to the face from an angered animal like that would put me out cold too. Though Rice wears a face mask on the field, little did we know his fiance would be forced to wear one as well; a face mask of cover-up and concealer to veil the rage driven bruises and wounds.

Whether NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has handled this situation well or not, the nation’s reaction to these injustices has been astoundingly refreshing.

Jason Maloni, crisis communications specialist from PR firm Levick in Washington D.C., put the social media reaction well by stating, “Athletes have been crossing the line for many, many years. What’s new is the echo chamber (of social media). I imagine a player of Adrian Peterson’s stature might have gotten a pass (from the league) before, but the pictures of his child’s injuries make it a lot more vivid for everybody.”

Before 2005, before Facebook and Twitter, these players may have gotten away with beating, slapping, or threatening their loved ones, but these social sites have turned into a powerful grand jury. The NFL is a business, and without happy customers, it’s going to have a hard time making money, though Commissioner Goodell’s $44 million 2013 paycheck might struggle to understand that concept. Reaction from fans in tweets and posts have had a direct effect on change in NFL conduct. Without these tools, the league would’ve been able to sweep these issues under the mat and continue with low coverage of the problems.

Through all this mess, we find that the majority of people, mostly focusing on followers of the NFL, are good people with good intentions. A telling scene developed outside M&T; Bank Stadium last week, as thousands of Ravens fans exchanged their tarnished Rice jerseys to wear another player’s name. As fans of this NFL, we love a good fight, but know what a team can do.

To quote Abraham Lincoln, “To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.”