Basketball Australia Takes a Stand Against Online Abuse
In a decisive move to protect its sporting community, Basketball Australia has announced a new partnership with an online safety platform designed to combat the rising tide of social media abuse targeting athletes, coaches, and officials. The initiative, launched on Wednesday 26th November 2025, involves the men's National Basketball League (NBL) and the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL).
The Emotional Toll of Social Media Harassment
The urgency for this action was powerfully articulated by Scott Roth, head coach of the Tasmania JackJumpers. Following a recent game, Roth gave an emotional press conference detailing weeks of distressing abuse directed at his players and their families. The situation reached a new low when an individual wished a miscarriage upon a player's pregnant wife.
"This last 24 hours have been quite emotional for our group … very emotional, and we have a lot of distraught players and family members and wives and spouses and children," Roth stated. He described the attacks as brutal and ugly, issuing a public plea for the NBL to take action.
How the New Online Safety Platform Will Help
Heeding this call, Basketball Australia has joined forces with Social Protect. This partnership will provide players, coaches, and officials with access to specialised tools and education. The platform is designed to monitor, detect, and delete online harassment and abuse across major social media sites.
Basketball Australia confirmed that Social Protect’s real-time platform automatically identifies and removes abusive comments on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. This is achieved by tracking a database of more than two million abusive words and phrases in over 100 languages.
This move aligns with a broader trend in professional sports. Other organisations, such as the ATP for tennis players and soccer officials in Germany, have also launched investigations and initiatives to curb abuse, particularly racist incidents.
A Critical Step for Female Athletes
Jennie Sager, chief executive of Australia's WNBL, emphasised the disproportionate impact on women in sport. "Female athletes are targeted with nearly 20% more online abuse than their male peers, and 85% say it impacts their well-being," Sager revealed.
She stressed that the partnership is a decisive step to stand up for players, giving them the protection and confidence they need to own their voice online without being silenced by anonymous trolls.
The reality of this abuse was echoed by player Dejan “DJ” Vasiljevic of the Sydney Kings, who has received direct messages telling him to "go kill yourself." For Coach Roth, the situation is clear: the abuse has moved beyond crossing the line, leaving family members scared to leave their homes and children exposed to hateful content. As he succinctly put it, "We deserve better."
