If Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge had his way none of his players would be involved in social media unless they were making good money out of it.
The AFL club announced on Wednesday that power forward Tom Boyd was taking an indefinite break from the sport to deal with clinical depression.
Boyd has been under relentless public scrutiny since joining the Bulldogs three years ago from Greater Western Sydney on a massive $6 million, six-year contract.
He played a key role in the Bulldogs’ fairytale 2016 premiership triumph but has been unable to replicate that in 2017.
The 21-year-old Boyd’s patchy form has mirrored that of the reigning premiers, who have won only seven of their 14 matches to sit in 10th spot on the ladder, prompting a predictable backlash on Facebook and Twitter.
“Unfortunately most players in the game feel the need and I know everyone here would want them to have a social media presence,” Beveridge told a media conference on Wednesday.
“… But for a player it’s not very helpful.
“I’m not going to tell them not to do it.
“But if it’s not a revenue raiser for them, I’d rather they didn’t do it.”
The two-way nature of social media allows fans to interact with players, often in a negative way.
“Just by having an account you’re invited in,” Beveridge said.
“If you haven’t got one, there’s no invitation.
“If we talk about risk management, if you want to eliminate the risk, don’t have an account.
“Because if you have one then the only way you can mitigate it is by not looking at it and they all find it hard to do that.”