As interest in women’s sports has surged, so has the issue of online harassment directed at female athletes, particularly prominent figures. According to The Net, a mental health support organization for women in sports, 87% of female athletes reported experiencing online harm in the past year.
In response, The Net has launched a new tool, developed in collaboration with agency BarkleyOKRP and the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, designed to shield players from harmful content on social media. Currently in beta testing and exclusive to the Chicago Sky players, the AI-driven tool identifies negative comments on players’ X (formerly Twitter) feeds and blurs them out. Each obscured post features a banner stating “negativity blocked,” aligning with the campaign’s message: Block the negativity, post up positivity.
Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky, who has faced significant online hate during her NCAA career and now in her inaugural WNBA season, features in a promotional video for this initiative. Rony Castor, group creative director at BarkleyOKRP, highlighted the overwhelming amount of negative comments directed at Reese during their research and app development.
The campaign video showcases Reese alongside teammates Chennedy Carter, Isabelle Harrison, and Brianna Turner, as well as coach Theresa Weatherspoon. During practice, the players confront negativity on social media, using basketballs to smash the negative comments as their coach supports them.
The tool was launched at a Chicago Sky home game against the Phoenix Mercury. With the WNBA seeing a threefold increase in viewership this season, the organization acknowledges the corresponding rise in racist and misogynistic abuse faced by players.
Tania Haladner, CMO of the Chicago Sky, expressed concern over how social media comments deeply impact the mental health of female athletes, making their experiences even more challenging due to increased scrutiny.
Javier Valle, creative director at BarkleyOKRP, noted that many harmful posts portrayed in the video were pulled from real social media content. Castor pointed out that such negativity is something female athletes endure which is often not relatable for their male counterparts.
The development of the AI tool involved a collaborative effort among the agency’s developers, creatives, strategists, and community managers. They analyzed posts related to the Chicago Sky and tagged them as positive or negative to train the algorithm effectively. The team also incorporated language variations and contexts to enhance the tool’s accuracy in understanding what content should be blocked or accepted.
Valle explained that while they cannot censor public discourse, the tool’s purpose is to blur out negativity, allowing players to maintain a positive mindset. The Net’s website tracks the number of posts blocked daily by the tool, which became operational on August 15. Blurred posts are accompanied by a display of positive comments about the team and its players, underscoring the initiative’s aim to create a supportive environment.
While the tool currently focuses on X and targets posts about the Chicago Sky and its players, Robles indicated a desire to broaden its language capabilities to combat negativity across various contexts. The goal is to ultimately expand the tool’s application throughout the league and possibly for personal use as the AI continues to evolve.