'I was told to kill myself about five times, that I should be shot and that was over nothing'
James Haskell knows all about the dangers of social media abuse which has seen rugby join football in taking a stand by instigating a four day boycott of all platforms to highlight the problem. After receiving death threats and a torrent of abuse, the former England flanker has words of warning for those players chosen for the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa this summer.
Haskell managed to upset a section of the British farming community by reacting to complaints that his dog was off the lead in open land during a walk. He was reminded by critics of the number of dog attacks on livestock and that his actions were unacceptable. “I was told to kill myself about five times, that I should be shot and that was over nothing,” explained Haskell, who won 77 caps and toured with the 2017 Lions in New Zealand.
Typically, the former England flanker fired back but now realises it was a pointless exercise and it was a reminder that while social media can be a useful tool it can also lead you down a dark alley and he regrets making that error. “Stupidly, I gave it back to people and lowered myself to their level and I lost out. You cannot engage with it and everyone is perpetually offended and society is outraged about everything. It is a horrible world and don’t engage because you will never win
“I know that the Rugby Football Union has never experienced the abuse that followed the fifth-place finish in the Six Nations. The vitriol, hate and personal attacks – they have never seen anything like it.”
Haskell provided an insight into life with the Lions in New Zealand with his videos of room mate Sean O’Brien, the Ireland flanker, hugely popular along with his “bromance” with fellow England international Owen Farrell.
With the Lions facing a five-week tour to South Africa this summer that will see the 36 players having to spend extended periods in “bubbles” in Pretoria/Johannesburg and Cape Town due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media will, inevitably become a factor as they seek to find ways of killing time. Haskell said: “I created content on that Lions tour but knew what was acceptable and what wasn’t and I wanted to give the fans something.
Sending my gratitude to the amazing people who follow me.
I often talk about the negative stuff but actually for every 2 bad bits are normally 2000 mega positive compliments.
Thank you for all the love and kind words. pic.twitter.com/pIGG1byomv
— James Haskell (@jameshaskell) April 26, 2021
“People still talk about the videos with Owen and Sean and letting people see behind the scenes is amazing but you have to be careful. If Kyle Sinckler falls through the table tennis table then that is worth putting on. If Sean O’Brien is teaching farming songs then the world needs to see but if he was to cartwheel naked across the room then they don’t.
“I was an early adopter of Twitter and I saw the benefits but it is a mad construct that if you are in the public eye you deserve to get abused. For young rugby players it is a necessary evil because of the benefits of promotion and if you don’t have a social media presence how do you promote sponsors and connect with fans?
“If you don’t need to promote on social media then don’t bother because it will affect your mental health as it brings the worst out of people.”
England football manager Gareth Southgate wants his players to ditch social media during this summer’s European championships to avoid race hate and abuse. The stand taken by football and other sports with a four day boycott of social media was prompted by a lack of action from the tech companies to stop the abuse. Haskell believes rugby also has to face up to the problem and added: “ Everyone gets abused online and football has it worse because it is a far bigger game and rugby is niche but you get the same stuff.
“The bigger issue is that identity on line is masked and people have completely lost the plot and there is no context. There is a mob mentality and it is important to stop people being anonymous online and I don’t know why it isn’t done.
“I am a 36-year-old man and fell foul of the trap of allowing people to abuse me and not ignoring it. The lesson I learnt if you come down to their level it is win, win for them and lose, lose for you and kids have to understand that you need a thick skin. “
Comments on RugbyPass
What a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
1 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to comments