Team Ireland athletes have collectively taken a stand against online hate speech this week as the Olympic Federation of Ireland launched their new campaign ‘Don’t Scroll By’.
The campaign is an initiative of the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s Athletes’ Commission and has been launched with the support of Indeed, an official partner of the Irish Olympic team.
It calls on the public and sporting stakeholders nationwide to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to online abuse, discrimination and hate speech, and to #DeleteBanReport any of this type of commentary they witness online.
We were joined by sprinter Leon Reid and Shane O’Connor from the Athlete’s Commission for a chat this morning on the Sport for Business Daily and you can watch or listen back to the interview below.
‘Don’t Scroll By’ is a clear and strong statement by Team Ireland that there is no place for online abuse, discriminatory comments or hate speech on social media channels in Irish sport.
The OFI is asking everyone involved at all touchpoints of Irish sport to take action and make a public stance by showing that as a nation, we are anti-racist, and opposed to any forms of discrimination and hate speech.
The campaign was launched this morning with a new video, in which Team Ireland uses the Olympic Values of Striving for Excellence and Respect to highlight the power that people collectively have to eliminate hate speech from social media channels, to make online sport a hate-free zone.
You can view the launch video here as our Daily Video.
As part of the new initiative, the OFI will also officially become members of the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) and will support their ‘Love Not Hate’ campaign and their lobby to the government for the introduction of appropriate Hate Crime Legislation.
They have also launched a new booklet, with the support of Indeed, to support sport Social Media managers to #DeleteBanReport any type of hate commentary they witness online.
“We are extremely proud to launch ‘Don’t Scroll By’ today,” said Shane O’Connor.
“Irish Olympic athletes have already overcome many hurdles and challenges to reach the top of their sport. As role models, they are in the public eye, and their performances are under scrutiny. However, they should never be targeted based on their identity or cultural background.”
“Team Ireland athletes want to make a very strong statement that there is no place for online abuse, discriminatory comments or hate speech on social media channels. We know that the majority of Ireland does not agree with the small minority, and we are calling on that majority to stand up and play a role in tackling online hate. Together, we can tackle it.”
The campaign is being backed by Government with Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin on hand to help with the launch.
“The ‘Don’t Scroll By’ campaign is an extremely important initiative for all of us involved in Irish sport and across the wider Irish society,” she said.
“As a society, we must come together to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to online abuse and hate speech and ensure that this type of language and commentary is eradicated and dealt with. These athletes represent us on the national and world stages, and we are fully behind them to ensure that they can continue to strive for excellence.”
“It is up to all of us to ensure that these athletes are not targeted online – or through any medium – by abuse or hate speech. We must stand together on this and fully support these athletes and I will do my utmost to help ensure that this approach is one that is adopted across all areas in my remit.”
“This new campaign from the Olympic Federation of Ireland is a really important campaign for all of us in Irish sport and across Irish society,” added Minister of State Jack Chambers.
“We are proud to join the OFI today in supporting a zero-tolerance approach to online abuse, discrimination and hate speech, and to call on everyone to #DeleteBanReport any of this type of commentary they witness online.”
“Racism and xenophobia have no place in any profession,” said Conor Byrne, Marketing Director at Indeed.
“Inclusion and Belonging are core values at Indeed, so we were delighted to partner with the OFI to create this booklet, which we hope will help people understand how to combat racism online.”
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