Rugby bosses are investigating high-tech AI tools in a bid to protect players from online abuse, threats and potential scams.
Chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association (NZRPA) Rob Nichol told the Herald that sports stars need support around online abuse and protection from increasingly sophisticated scammers.
He said measures could include high-profile players using signatures for autograph-hunters that are different from their personal bank signatures - and training around the risks of taking selfies with fans that could later be manipulated.
Abuse of players and officials reached concerning new levels during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, including death threats and other vile abuse directed at referee Wayne Barnes who officiated the Springboks’ final win over the All Blacks.
All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane has previously spoken about player struggles with social media and online abuse, saying “Sometimes social media takes its toll on the team, the boys”.
Last year, leading Kiwi referee Ben O’Keeffe shared some of the horrid social media abuse he received after the Super Rugby final, including threats to his safety and one post that said “I hope you get cancer”.
Nichol told the Herald that the association had been approached about AI tech that monitors social media for individuals and organisations.
“It detects anything abusive when it comes through. It flags it, stops it from necessarily reaching the person and notifies whoever wants to be notified,” he said.
“Then they can step in and check it, or step in and make sure the person is shielded from it. We have talked about it [with New Zealand Rugby].”
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) already monitors social media for unlicensed use of its player or intellectual property, and also posts from players that might breach agreed standards.
The national rugby body did not respond to a request for comment over the possible new AI technology.
Nichol added: “It is just a targeted means of screening a channel; a high-profile athlete’s X channel could be scanned for someone who is looking to have a crack at them and would intercept it.”
When asked whether it should be paid for by the athlete personally, NZR or the players’ association, Nichol said: “I don’t know. It depends . . . all of the above if need be”.
“We have had a couple of different organisations pitch it.”
Nichol said he believed such tools were already used in New Zealand by different high-profile organisations and corporates.
“If you have people working in high-profile positions and you have a responsibility for their welfare in the workplace, then this is a natural extension.”
While our sporting elite aren’t targeted to the degree those in bigger countries are, Nichol said it still has an impact.
Nichol said the All Blacks had already been schooled on the potential perils of social media, including how to handle vile trolling or abuse.
“There are still the trolls and the negativity and the people that for whatever reason choose to jump on an individual, whether it is a coach or a player,” he said.
Police opened an investigation into online threats to kill made against World Rugby referees after last year’s Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand rugby players have had their identities linked to cryptocurrency, Ponzi schemes and questionable business opportunities.
“A person working in a professional sport has a level of publicity people may choose to target and use that name for leverage,” Nichol said.
“But the reality is all members of the population in one way, shape or form are all subject to the same type of stuff . . . whether it is online bullying, harassment, targeting, gas-lighting or business deals or Ponzi schemes.
“It is something that everyone in society and in our communities needs to be educated on to become aware of and look out for each other.”
Nichol said players also need to be careful around more traditional interactions with sports fans - including when asked for their autographs.
Players often operated with multiple signatures; one for autograph hunters, and a secret one for their personal finances and confidential documents.
“It [what they give fans] probably is their real autograph,” Nichol said. “It might just be on confidential documents they use a different means by which they identify.
“In other words, you’re getting the authentic autograph, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the player is going to use that autograph on formalised documents. And my advice would be not to.”
For generations, autographs were the precious item fans sought from their sporting heroes - now fans want selfies too.
“The beauty of it is that people are still interested and keen to get photos and autographs, which is great,” he said.
“And you will barely find an athlete in New Zealand who is not happy to oblige and feels quite privileged and feels really respectful that somebody wants their photo or autograph.”
Nichol said players loved to interact with fans as much as possible, but it was also “important” that they remained wary that photos taken couldn’t be manipulated and used at their expense down the track.
Meanwhile, Nichol said one area which players or their representatives are unlikely to be able to crack down on is the rapid rise of unauthorised books published about top stars.
In recent months the number of unauthorised books on some of the world’s top sportspeople available for download on Kindle or reading devices has soared.
Those electronic publications include recent releases on All Blacks, including on Beauden Barrett and Ardie Savea.
The Players’ Association was aware “there is a reasonable amount out there” but Nichol said players couldn’t do much about the books that were largely based on previous interviews.
“If someone wants to buy it, it is up to them.”
Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 30 years of newsroom experience.
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