#post later

[blusical]

Problematic Players and You

(PT: Problematic Players and You)

Trigger Warning: This post discusses several triggering or otherwise sensitive topics, including, but not limited to, abuse sexual assault, bigotry, and violence. Reader discretion is advised. Additional Disclaimer: This is not a post defending the actions of athletes mentioned *nor* is it an attack on said athletes (or their fans!). This is about dealing with serious events involving players as a whole.

Have you ever woke up one day and found out that your favorite race car driver said some not-so savory things? Have you ever checked the news one day and found out a hockey player you love was accused of rape? Are you a new sports fan who did research on an athlete you like only to find out they're a straight up creep? And have you ever asked yourself: “Where the hell do I go from here?” when it comes to merch you’ve already bought or the amount of gifsets you’ve made for them? Well, you’ve come to the right post! Because let’s face it, we’ve (probably) all been there, done that and got the t-shirt (Err, jersey). 

First off, what defines a problematic player?

Well... there's not really a set definition. Everyone has a different idea of what's 'problematic' and what isn't. However, there are some deeds that athletes do that are... kind of ick, so any of the following could make them be considered very problematic:

-Bigotry (ex. Racism, homophobia). -Cheating (as in cheating on your spouses. Not cheating as in using PEDs even though that too is also kinda trashy). -Abuse, sexual assault, etc. -Questionable/not so great political opinions.

And then there’s athletes who’ve been involved in so many off-ice controversies and allegations that it’s reached a point where regardless of how many are true or not, and no matter how much new information is revealed, they won’t be well liked by fans (Patrick Kane, anyone?). Okay, but why do athletes do this crap in the first place?

Well... there's a couple theories on why some do these things.

Sometimes mental and environmental factors can influence an athlete’s decision making. Say, if an athlete was abused by a coach when they were young, that might factor into any actions, good or bad, a player makes in the future. In cases of bigoted opinions, athletes are raised to have such opinions.

Age can also play a factor into a player’s actions. The younger they are, the more likely they’re going to do stupid shit (Or so I've noticed, please correct me if I'm wrong lmfao). Again. The theories are limitless. However most of the time athletes do these things because... they chose to do that. And a part of that is being because sports culture. Yeah. Sports culture sucks. Who would've known?

So do problematic athletes... stay problematic forever?

Well, yes and no.

As much as our first instinct is to “cancel” said athletes and pressure them to take accountability, we should also give them a chance to grow when they do take accountability instead of pushing the issue further.

However, that also depends on if they chose to grow. Hell, it depends if they even admit to making a mistake or admitting to guilt at all (which is, unfortunately, very impressive in a society like this). If they don’t.. Well, that’s their choice. Best we can do as fans beyond that point is just spread awareness. Remember: 99% of the time celebs won't listen to their fans. Some will. But do not expect your favorite to do the right thing. You will be disappointed. Another thing to keep in mind is that even if changes to character are made, people (us included) will still probably continue to view them differently for a while. As much as we’d like to put the past behind us, that just isn’t easy. (And besides, in the long term this is probably a good thing, since as fans it’s not our place to forgive; that’s up to the people affected). Actually while we’re at it..

Help! What should I do when an athlete (including my favorite) gets into controversy?

It’s always stressful (and sad) when an athlete you’ve admired and looked up to is eventually outed as a terrible person. It’s even more stressful when you’re a newer fan to sports and you just find out about said problematic deeds.

Well, first thing's first: process your emotions, and feelings. And once you're done crying, screaming, whatever action you're doing to process your feelings, spread awareness if you feel comfortable enough doing so. When spreading awareness though: DO RESEARCH AND ONLY SHARE RELIABLE SOURCES. Unfortunately serious allegations almost always have misinformation popping out. Hell, sometimes "allegations" may just be someone causing trouble on the internet (Corey Perry situation, anyone?). If the source is from a random Twitter user (that doesn't work in journalism), or the source is from a site like Deadspin and/or TMZ or any other site that has a history of clickbait, odds are, it's best to take it with a grain of salt. Team fansites (like RMNB, a Caps site) are also not always reliable, so take caution when reading through them as well.

It's better to stick with actually known sources like ESPN, Bleacher Report or a journalist like Elliotte Friedman. Rick Westhead and Katie Strang are really good journalists when it comes to issues relating to hockey. Additionally, do not expect to know *all* the information. Do not demand all information to come out. Sometimes not everything can be shared for legal reasons. Be patient and wait for everything to come out. And even then, don't expect it to be everything that happened (because again, legal reasons). Also, don't expect other people to talk about the incident in question! Do not guilt others into discussing it, do not force others to post about it. Focus on what you can do before focusing on what others can do! After most information (if not all of it), it's up to you to come to your own conclusions. Lastly, regardless of what your decision is, whether you decide to stop supporting them or you choose to believe they did nothing wrong (for any reason), but you're stuck on what to do anyway... Well... and this is probably anticlimactic I know, what to do is... up to you!

Internet wise, your internet space is your space! Your Tumblr blog is your blog! If you wanna stop posting about that player and also delete every single mention of said player outside of spreading awareness? Great! That’s your choice! Wanna keep said posts up but tag them and/or add a disclaimer! Also great! Wanna keep posting them or writing fics about them? Completely fine! Just tag it accordingly and keep in mind why these folks may not like said players. And *please* continue to be critical of said players when they do something wrong. Your favorite is not immune to criticism.

(In other words, yes Hawks fans, you’re allowed to post your Kane gifs and 1988 fics. Just tag it accordingly. And just know that people *will* probably judge you for it).

One thing you should not do however: DO NOT CENSOR NAMES. This fucks with filters and screenreaders (More in-depth post on this here!).

And because apparently this still needs to be said, don’t wish injury or death on the players and for the love of Wayne Gretzky don’t fucking send harassment to their families (seriously why do people do this fucking garbage holy fuck).

Secondly, don’t buy their jerseys or other merchandise from official sites! They will profit off that. If you've already brought it, don't just throw it out. Instead, leave it in storage, sell it or, if you're good at tailoring, try making something new out of it! Additionally (especially in cases of rape, violence, etc), SUPPORT THE VICTIMS INVOLVED. They need it the most.

What about the folks that continue to support said athletes?

If someone continues to post an athlete that’s done not great things, it’s tempting to educate them and tell them (which, if you’re going to do so, please tell them gently and not yell at them, especially if they’re a newer or younger fan who has zero clue what’s going on) But if they already know (which odds are they probably do unless they’re a newer fan), and/or they refuse to stop posting about them after being told, the best plan of action is to just… leave them alone. Just leave them be. Do not bother them further. Do not harass them. Do not send them threats. And for goodness gracious don’t make a callout post or blocklist of every single supporter of said athlete.

(Seriously attempting to make a long blocklist never ends well, especially since half the time the users on said blocklist turn out to be literal children).

That said though, if your friends/mutuals are actively defending bigoted comments and/or making statements that borderline towards abuse apologism, it’s not a bad idea to hold them accountable in a private setting. Yes I said private setting because most drama can be avoided with a private DM. But other than that... someone still writes 1988 fic? Leave them be! Someone still makes gifsets of Alex Ovechkin? Leave them be! Hell, someone still talks about the Staals? Just leave them be! The best course of action is to… just use the block button and/or filter posts accordingly. That’s literally it lmfao.

But why do people continue to support these athletes anyway?

Well it all comes down to the following: A. They have trouble grappling with the fact that they are, in fact, problematic. B. They’re Neurodivergent (especially autistic or individuals with ADHD), or struggling IRL, and kinda rely on those people to function or get through the day. 

C. Detaching yourself from a problematic figure is… really easier said than done. It is not easy at all lmfao. D. They're refuse to listen to info. E. They genuinely have no clue what's going on. Either way. Don't judge too harshly. Not everyone can just stop supporting a person/media and guess what? It's not as easy as 99% of Tumblr dot com thinks. Not everyone can just stop enjoying/liking something. And guess what? That's actually O-KAY. Last thing to know.

Lastly, you, yourself, *could* probably be supporting a problematic player right now! And you would never know until much later! At the end of the day, 99% of athletes have done problematic things one way or another. And honestly, if we tried to get rid of every problematic person... there probably wouldn't be any people left on Earth at all. Yeah, some actions are more shittier than ever, but trying to make everything "unproblematic"... is never going to work no matter how you look at it, and that is OKAY.

Remember the most important rule (stolen from someone on discord with the second edited by me!):

Now get out there and cheer for whatever player you'd like.

(Special thanks to @hard4softthings @saucerfulofsins @tapejob @youneedtolookatthis @restingbuchface @bedardconnor and a bunch of other folks for providing most of the advice/info/tips for this post!)

#post later #hockey culture #hockeyblr #hockey #sports #nhl #pwhl #women's hockey #men's hockey #ask to tag #id in alt #was going to post this tomorrow but considering recent events i feel like it's important for folks to know this #especially since this affects a lot of people #(and as always critique/corrections welcome!) #long post #problematic athletes

[commiepinkofag]

#screw it #student newspaper #1970s #1970 #australia #queer #queer history #gay #post later

[magichxmxny]

So A freind of mine told me to try the before and after challange and I did, and Oh boy has my style improved. Im shocked to say the least. I also did the G5 style as well becouse why not. Also art blog here Before

After

#Mun art #getting back into the swing of things #been focusing on this massive project that has 76 characters. and im almost done!! #post later #also will link my art blog too

[grotesquxz-htf]

Feeling like being cringe♡

(I'll post some more art soon)

#no tags #post later

[afreakingdork]

I drew comic

💤

#sleep #post later #look forwad #me

[sunghoonmyprince]

sorry guyz I'm not able to post for few days bcz I'm busy in studies due to my tests 😭🤧, So kindly understand my situation and I'll be posting soon.........I LOVE Y'ALL 💜♥️

Thank you,

Yours lovingly <333

~Aera>>>

#im sorry #post later #thank you #enhypen #yandere writer #Aera is talking

[laybee104857ilyouo]

sneak peek to the gacha meme post I’m gonna post 🥰😉😫🍋

#SpongeBob gacha #patrick star #gacha edit #post later

[penname-artist]

"Better Later Than Never"

Blade/Nick, humanized, another random AU

-

He had a good feeling about the applicant. Something about the way they signed their name - an odd detail for a person to notice in the first place - gave him a ray of hope. He wasn't choppy and uneven like all these young guys, who didn't know the first thing about handwriting. No, this applicant had his name out in cursive. Nice cursive, even. The big swirls gave it a little extra flare to boot.

He hadn't even met the man, but something told him he would be a good fit. Maru seemed to think highly of him too, after their chat.

"Sounds like all the fun of a Smokejumper without the brute of one." He chuckled - after hearing Drip shout across the tarmac.

"But he's not going to be a Smokejumper. He's a pilot." Blade had read his papers carefully. In all fairness it was one of the thickest resumes out of the pack.

"And one of your own, if I'm not mistaken." Maru added. Blade nodded his suspicions. "Shouldnt have too much of a problem finding a place to keep the chopper. Although fitting it to a firefighting team might be a little...tricky."

"I was thinking about that," Blade said, turning to look at Maru fully. He'd had his eyes on the papers since he'd walked over here. "His helicopter isn't much for a water tanker, but he would be an excellent spotter and rescue craft."

"Light little thing, idn't it?"

"Mhm." Blade thumbed through the pages until they came to it: a grainy printout of the ride their trainee was working with. She was an older model, been through the ringer a few times for sure, but everything was in fine condition by Maru's standards. As worn in as it was, it was clear its owner paid it great care. The cockpit was even fitted with custom seats.

It should figure; the pilot had a lengthy history in the show biz.

Blade readjusted the pages in his hands, tapping it onto the counter of Maru's garage to keep them even.

"I have a good feeling about him." He said. Maru chuckled,

"High praise in your book."

-

The quiet drumming of a nearby helicopter began to fade in over the mountains. Blade lifted his head from his desk, already aware who it may be. Helicopters - especially of that kind of size and sound - were far from uncommon near the Lodge, but rarely would they wander this far back into the park. Even the tours didn't go this far back.

The rest of his team was already parked outside, waiting.

They stood together outside of Maru's garage, some starting their walk towards the helipad just as the little chopper touched down over it. Five rotors began to spool down with their engine as the skids of the aircraft settled onto the concrete. Blade took care to move his larger chopper into the adjoining hangar; they'd find easy room for this one there, too. It looked easy to do.

The fire chief and his lieutenant squinted into the sun as the trainee climbed out of the front. Under a pair of thick headphones was an equally thick head of slightly silvered hair, curly and unkept like the rotorwash was his morning brush.

"Lopez?" Silus asked, extending his hand - and finding he was a significant amount taller than the man. But he brushed it off with a laugh, taking the second in command's hand firmly and introducing himself.

When he turned to take Blade's, their eyes locked solidly together.

"Ranger," they said, after the pause in time, "heard a lot of good things about you! Looking forward to working with ya."

"Same to you." he said, "Please, call me Blade."

"Nick." He replied, smiling and arching a brow. "Blade huh? Got yourself one of those cool nicknames?"

Blade smiled, "somethin' like that, yeah."

The walk back was mostly back and forth between the three of them about their aircraft, comparing power to size and fuel consumption to turning ability. Nick definitely had both of them beat in all but the first.

Meeting the rest of the team was smooth sailing. Nick seemed to settle with the crowd easy, despite his limited range of knowledge. Blade was even shocked to see a warm welcome out of the veteran. They got straight to the nitty gritties - a rundown of the facilities, paperwork, a medical run-down (and a chance for Nick to show off some wicked scars along his torso), another pile of paperwork, and finally a team meeting over dinner.

Nick went with everything swimmingly. It almost intimidated Blade, if it hadn't interested him further. Nick was around his age, just a few years younger, and they hit up a lot of the same interests. Acting was something the older male always wanted to get back into, but never had past high school and college level plays. But then there was music taste, morals, even childhood wounds, and they kept finding things to find out and learn about each other.

Across the table, he sat watching him back, staring up dreamily in half lidded brown eyes. Blade was almost flush, like some high schooler. But he was far from wanting to ask it to stop.

He knew he had a good feeling about him...

#disney planes #disneyplanes #planes fire and rescue #disney planes 2 #blade ranger #nick lopez #blade x nick #pen drabbles #post later

[cleararttelevisioncash]

Sorry everyone I have to go to bed! I have work tomorrow so goodnight! I will promise to post when I get home from work!

#back up blog #mod talks #random post #not my gif #good night #work #busy #sorry #post later

[anthonycrowley]

he’s the moment

#text #my post #mobi #gomens #mmm months later you guys are still annoying this is going into jail 💕 the gomens fandom is so fucking insufferable 💕

[thesociallyanxioussociopath]

Very much inspired by that Valentine Pin-Up Alastor merch where the only significant change is him having his bow-tie unclipped.

Anyway, happy valentine day sike, it's Aro week and we are begrudgingly going on dates to help our friends with their heist. Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (end)

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fanart #radio demon #alastor hazbin hotel #charlie hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #hazbin hotel lucifer #vaggie #my art #we all know who the target is #I'll post him later #an interesting style to try on tbh; tho my style still bleeds out

[ithappensoffstage]

I am genuinely so worried for all the young horny dykes going into adulthood thinking there's something "problematic" / "wrong" with them for being horny because fucking tiktok lesbians think any horny dyke content is "male gaze fetishitic"

#have seen screenshot after screenshot of that video saying love lies bleeding is fetishizing lesbians and?? muscles?? #i cant take this shit anymore #text #anyway stay horny! #concerning tags y'all!! bobbi is joking! sarcasm! joking! #(for the later reblogs with the added screenshots) #y'all are killing me with these notes though this was formatted to be like. a 30 note max rant post.

[nosleep83]

So I just watched the fnaf movie

#ACEHAHWGAHQGWGHQ #I LOVE IT SO MUCH #SCREAMING RN AGHHHH #ILL BE POSTING ABT IT MORE LATER #fnaf #fnaf movie #fnaf movie spoilers

[kelddaa]

I was plagued by a vision

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #laios touden #laios #wondered what laios would look like in a crop top #don't ask me why #“someone should do something about this" #remembers I’m an artist #blacks out #this appeared #dunmeshi #shit post art #redraw #kelds art #kelddaa #anime-onlys I promise this will make more sense later

[muirneach]

fuck it this is about neil now

#just. assorted images and quotes i had kicking around. idk couldnt think of a witty joke to replace this post with #trans #<- keeping that so i can find this later lol #csny

[redactedrem]

Headcanon where after so many arguments between the batkids and Bruce over his paranoia and complete disregard for his kids privacy, the entire family had compromised with (in the healthiest way possible) downloading life360 on their phones and that's how they all keep track of each other.

Now Bruce knew that this is mostly for his benefit and is supposed to be a healthy alternative for his unhealthy paranoia and helicopter parenting, but what he wasn't expecting was for his kids to start keeping track of him.

He's putting gas in his car and Dick calls him because apparently Dick has been watching him drive around on the app? And Bruce is currently at a gas station thats right around the corner from a Taco Bell and now Dick wants him to get food for everyone since he's already there.

He's driving home from a meeting and Steph calls him because her and Duke were shopping in the area and wants to know if he can pick them up, when he asks how she knew he was on the same street, he gets a "Oh I just like to stalk everyone on the app for funsies." as an answer.

Jason calls him and he can barely get out a hello before Jason cuts him off, "Bruce why the fuck is your phone battery on 5%, charge your damn phone" which completely stuns him because why does he know that. He clears his throat before answering. "Jason, what?"

"Everyone can see each others phone batteries on '360, now charge your phone." Is all he gets before Jason hangs up on him.

#I have more ideas in my head #but I didn't want to make the post too long #might repost later #might write a small fanfic off of this #I actually don't have life360 but my friend does and I'm basing this off of how she interacts with her mom #batfamily #batfam #headcanon #dick grayson #nightwing #bruce wayne #batman #jason todd #red hood #tim drake #red robin #cardinal tim drake #stephanie brown #spoiler