Sports are the greatest unifying force in a high school. They are the defining factor in forming the general identity of a high school and students are aware of that, boasting school athletics merchandise wherever they go. The competition of sports creates an interconnectedness between towns that stresses rivalries in major games. However, this interconnectedness, in today’s era, is driven by the volatile mechanism of social media. Although it fosters some hateful comments, social media is a positive force in sports because it highlights athletes’ achievements, increases competition and draws students to games. Westfield and surrounding communities need to work together to decrease hate on social media and focus on real competition.
Over 4,500 students and other Westfield community members follow @dubfieldathletics, more commonly known as Dubfield, which advertises sporting events and game results. Among the 600+ posts made by Dubfield, comment sections are loaded with fake accounts, bashing Blue Devil athletes and the decisions of the athletic department.
Maybe the most well-known incident of this public disrespect is the COVID-19 shutdown for Westfield athletics in the fall of 2020. A post made to spread awareness for WHS athletes missing out on their respective seasons reached the phones of all WHS students, dividing the student body in two. One fake account tagged @westfieldsucksd**k posted the grammatically-incorrect comment, “Westfield still sucks d**k but not enough not to play. Let the kids play. We ain’t sitting in our basement for 18 months playing with ourselves over a glorified flu.” Another student behind a fake account tagged @willc**ktinct expressed his feelings about the shutdown, saying, “This is ridiculous! If I can’t watch my son play football I’m gonna take a crap on the board of ed’s front lawn!” The lack of maturity and self-control found in Dubfield comment sections only further demonstrates the need for people to use social media to express their opinions without overpowering negativity.
High school sports Instagram accounts such as Dubfield can publicize events and draw students into the bleachers. Many times student attendance at games is insufficient, but Dubfield is the primary force drawing people to games, so it is an extremely valuable asset. Furthermore, the account organizes the themes for each game, which adds an entertaining appeal to the event.
Summit’s sports Instagram page, @hilltop.nation, in a post previewing the Westfield-Summit regular season lacrosse game, wrote, “The pu***es who run Dubfield Athletics call a 13-2 embarrassment in the championship last year a ‘successful run in the Union County [tournament]'” and that the Summit head coach “made the necessary adjustments in the clearing game to account for the glare that will be coming off [a WHS’s student’s] MONSTROUS forehead.”
To start, the account is being immature by calling Westfield students “pu***s.” Fueling a rivalry in an intense matchup can help to heighten the tension around a game and draw attendance, but doing it this way only sets an example for student arrogance and immaturity towards those of different towns. Rivalries increase competition in a great way, but using blatantly insensitive comments is not the way to do it.
Even worse, the account made a public comment attacking a specific student of WHS. Any personal attacks should not be tolerated, as it is very hateful and can greatly affect the individual and those around them. Head boys basketball coach James McKeon thinks that it is better to ignore the hateful comments: “Everybody has an opinion on things. I don’t really take anything into account.” He also said that his team has not had real issues regarding personal attacks. “We really haven’t had [comments directed at] one individual. It’s more of a team kind of thing,” he said.
This happened during the football season, leading up to Westfield’s faceoff against rival Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Blue Devil quarterback Max Cho was on the receiving end of a racist comment. “One of their players was saying that I couldn’t see which was a racist comment towards my race of Korean,” he said, but noted that “I took offense to that and it made me a better player because I played with more motivation.” This is an example of how social media can fuel competition, but racism should never be tolerated. After Westfield’s 31-0 win over the Raiders, Cho posted on Instagram with the caption “20/20 vision.”
More important is the great positivity in social media. Accolades such as Allstate Athlete of the Week can recognize outstanding performances. The Instagram account @7eightsports, along with Dubfield, shout out great game and end-of-season statistics.
McKeon believes in the power of social media to spread positivity. He said that it should be used “as a tool that can provide positive light on what you do. Every program puts a lot of hard work into their stuff. I think it’s important to use social media as hopefully it gets more eyes on your program or eyes on an individual. Hopefully it may create a little bit more juice for them if they’re looking to play at the next level.” In the lengthy recruiting process, social media is a great way for an athlete to put themselves out there. “Use it in a positive form,” said McKeon. “It’s a great tool, but when it’s abused for not what it was made for, then it gets a little tricky, especially for high school kids. I think that it should be only positive stuff that you should put out there, and it can be a great tool to get more people in the stands and let more people know what’s going on. And even more eyes that aren’t even in the state to go watch everybody.”
Though there are hateful comments on social media in interactions between towns, the platform is a great way to recognize athletes and increase student attendance. Everyone needs to push for more positivity on social media.
