Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Kaiviti Silktails & England cricketers
Every Monday we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.
HIT – KAIVITI SILKTAILS
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the sporting calendar across the globe, and with strict measures in place to allow teams and athletes to compete in tournaments and events, it comes with a price. Quarantine.
Australia is one of the strictest countries when allowing visitors in during the pandemic, but a Fijian rugby league team called The Kaiviti Silktails have warmed hearts after singing a hymn in unison from their hotel balconies after completing their 14-day mandatory quarantine period.
The 35 athletes and support staff stood on their balconies, singing and clapping in unison as a way of thanking the hotel staff.
Now based in Sydney to begin preparations for their first full season in the Ron Massey Cup, a semi-professional competition that is two levels below Australia’s top-flight National Rugby League.
The squad had been due to take part in the competition last year before it was cancelled because of the pandemic and they now begin an eight-month stay in Australia to play in the tournament, based in New South Wales.
Footage of their singing went viral on social media with Silktails chief executive Stephen Driscoll explaining why the team were so grateful for their opportunity.
He said: “It’s normally an emotional scene when guys leave Fiji for the first time. That plus the excitement of what we’re going to be a part of made for emotional scenes at the airport.
“We wanted to make sure outside of training they’re living like normal footy players. We’ve filled their schedules with devotion sessions, training and online courses to ensure that they can find a routine and help them settle.”
During a time where people’s spirits need to be uplifted, The Kaiviti Silktails did exactly that in the most beautiful and respectful way.
A simple gesture can go a long way and they have certainly set an example for how professional sports teams and individuals should act and will undoubtedly have won them a raft of new fans for the season ahead.
MISS – RORY BURNS & ALEX HARTLEY
It has been a week to forget for England’s men’s cricket team.
Just last week they were our Hit of the Week after captain Joe Root and head coach Chris Silverwood quickly clarified comments about Moeen Ali’s omission from the squad for the final two Test matches in India.
However after suffering defeat inside two days in the third Test match against India in Ahmedabad, they were once again at the centre of a social media storm after batsman Rory Burns took exception to comments made by England women’s international Alex Hartley.
Hartley tweeted: "Nice of the England boys to get this test match finished just before England Women play tonight," along with four clapping emojis.
Burns was absent from the England side for the third Test after recording two ducks in his previous four innings, but the opening batsman failed to see the funny side and his reaction led to a series of abusive tweets aimed at Hartley.
"Very disappointing attitude considering all the 'boys' do to support the Women's game," he tweeted, with fellow players Ben Stokes and James Anderson liking the post before it was later deleted.
Burns was not the only player, with Nottinghamshire batsman Ben Duckett, who played for England in 2016, also responding to Hartley’s comments. “Average tweet," he wrote. "Don’t think any of the men’s team would be ‘clapping emojis’ if the women lost.”
Burns has since been reminded of his social media responsibilities by a member of England's team management, while fellow men’s Test player Ben Foakes believed the dispute was simply a ‘misunderstanding’.
A misunderstanding or not, the fact that Burns later deleted his tweet indicates that he realised the misjudgement that he’d made.
His tweet led to something of a social media pile-on aimed at Hartley with depressingly predictable sexist and derogatory comments in response.
As we saw with Leeds United FC just a few months ago, players and clubs need to be aware of the impact that their comments have, with female pundit Karen Carney abused by thousands of trolled because of comments she made about the Premier League outfit.
The reaction caused by Burns’ tweet prompted Hartley to post a selfie with the caption: “Side note, a huge thank you to all the lovely messages I’ve received. For the not so nice ones... remember there’s always a human at the other side, reading what you are saying.”
While the majority of respondents on social media sided with Hartley, the 27-year-old should have been aware that her comments could have been misinterpreted by a team that had just suffered a difficult defeat.
If Hartley put herself in the shoes of Burns, she would have realised that a tweet taking a dig at the women’s team losing heavily would also have been inappropriate.
In truth, neither player covered themselves in glory and it was the last thing that the England management team needed to deal with after falling behind in the Test series against India.
Sports stars should be well aware of the potential pitfalls of posting ‘jokes’ on social media.
This was yet another reminder that sometimes it is better to say nothing rather than something that you may later regret.