Absolutely fantastic from Luke. Takes a huge amount of courage to show vulnerability in such a public position. Hopefully this can help others in a similar space. Also hopefully will make people think twice before criticising players, on this board and elsewhere.
Why do vulnerable people use facecrap and Twatter? Everyone knows they are populated by trolling scumbags and the owners only pay lip service to moderation and identifying abusers etc. I know that people in the public eye use them to further their careers but surely if you are having problems like Luke is you should avoid them like the plague?
See where you are coming from but there's probably also positive reasons for staying on also. Others providing support, chatting, being part of something, staying in touch. Maybe it's about filtering out the negative stuff rather than ditching it all together? Tough one.
Not sure there’s anything to suggest his mental health struggles are related to social media. Could be wrong but I hadn’t drawn that conclusion. If anything he’s used it to get his message out and from what I’ve seen, responses have been massively positive
I can speak from experience. Break your leg and people see the pot. Have mental health issues and there's no bandage to see. Hope the lads ok.
Glad to hear it. I suppose there's been so much bad stuff on social media that it's easy to forget the good.
Yes you did and I called you out on divulging that on here potentially without his knowledge, with you pretending you aren't in any way connected to him. That was my concern. The fact he hasn't publicly said anything for months about it backs my viewpoint up. I know you meant well though, wasn't having a go at your intentions.
Some people when vulnerable like this, simply can't bring themselves to talk one to one. Ie over a phone call, or face to face chat. It can be a lifeline by simply text base messaging that they can do in their own time and fell less pressure. It's a massive jump to make he's now made, and whilst he might have been hesitant to post it, the response is brilliant. And whilst it won't solve his issues overnight, will make him feel a little less daunted. I'd say we'll done all round, step in the right direction.
Why should they be the ones to leave it tho? Same with players who have received racial abuse. It's about time Facebook and Twitter take action upon these trolls rather than the victim having to leave. I got banned the other week for telling a Slavia Prague fan that Glen Kamara should've done more than smack that Kudela after the game (apparently I was promoting violence).
Can't argue with you there but as I alluded to, Zuckerberg sits on his hands (or more likely sits counting his money) doing nothing about the problem.
Facebook and twitter have just magnified how many horrible people there are in the world,either jealous of others success or needing to bring people down,you need a thick skin to survive mentally intact in this world now,good look to him
It's not just faceache and witter though, is it? The amount of dogs abuse I have seen on this board for some of our own players is quite sickening, it must be hard enough to bear if you're a mentally strong individual but when at a low mental ebb it is devastating, and none of us know what is happening in the minds of our players. How do you think Patrick Schmidt felt reading some of the stuff posted about him? I agree that "Social" media should be monitored better by the corporations who own them, but at the end of the day responsibility for abusive posts of any nature rests with the poster. Whilst there appears to be no way to educate these morons, and little consequences if found out, sadly the abuse will continue. Good luck Luke, it's courageous of you to speak out
I do agree. Just to be clear on that. I reckon footballers accept that flak comes with the territory. If someone has had a $hit game, fans are perfectly entitled to voice that. If a player or manager acts in way (on or off the pitch) that I’m not happy with, I think I generally have the right to voice that. And I reckon vast majority of footballers are cool with that. For me, the line is where it gets personal. Absolutely no need, and for me it says far more about the person hurling the abuse, than the player getting it.