Social Media Pitfalls

This one might technically fall under a subheading of sports journalism. But the takeaway from this story is important for the future of the industry, so it bears discussing.

ESPN2 created a new show this year called ‘SportsNation.’ It features the increasingly popular Colin Cowherd (interestingly a sports talk radio star who is now transitioning into the television platform) and Michelle Beadle.

The distinguishing factor between ‘SportsNation’ and other ESPN sports programming is a heavy reliance on ‘the Nation’, or the social conglomerate of the everyday fan. Via online polls, questions, and twitter interaction, fans are directly involved in the content of the show.

As with most things Web 2.0, this also means that the show relies on a great deal of social video. The clips they show on the program range from insane basketball shots, strange sport combinations, and of course, failed extreme sport stunts.

Typically, everyone has a good laugh over these. But on Tuesday, ‘SportsNation’ showed a video of a BMX rider hitting a ramp, flying roughly 20 feet into the air, and plummeting onto the pavement. The crew in the studio, including Beadle and fill-in host Marcellus Wiley, had a great big laugh over the video, which indeed did look comical.

Beadle concluded the segment by saying,

“He’s fine, just in case you wondering.”

Unfortunately, what the crew and hosts of ‘SportsNation’ did not know, was that Colin Winklemann, the BMX rider was not fine, and in fact had committed suicide 5 years earlier as a result of the injuries suffered in the failed stunt.

On today’s show, Beadle read a statement on behalf of the show and ESPN apologizing for running the video in light of the consequences the accident had.

ESPN’s statement was,

“Given the larger context that we were clearly unaware of at the time, we should not have shown that video and we apologize. We will make every effort in the future to prevent something like this from happening again.”

Now, I am not trying to pile on ESPN or ‘SportsNation’ here. They made an error, and apologized for it. I simply feel it is important to point out how easy something like this can happen in today’s sports news climate.

If ESPN or other sports outlets plan on expanding their coverage into social media, it is important they stay diligent and sensitive when running user-generated content.