New GAA president Larry McCarthy has rounded on keyboard warriors, saying they discourage volunteerism within the Association.
McCarthy elaborated on that in his own address and made a veiled reference to the Donald Trump administration when emphasising the importance of choice of words. He said: “One of the lessons that we might learn from the recent near collapse of democracy in the United States is that words matter.“In that regard I would ask all of us to tone down the tenor of our public commentary. Social media has wonderful aspects to it, but there is also a dark side. One of which is, in the words of sports commentator Bob Costas, 'a corrosive assault on civility'.“By all means let us express an opinion, but please let’s do it in a manner that is respectful.
“Your behaviour not only has a corrosive effect on civility, it has a long term corrosive effect on the GAA as it discourages people from volunteering as members of our Association.”He explained: “It is a term that I loosely use to describe our members who have transitioned from the playing field to the role of commentator or prognosticator on the national airwaves. Their comments, sometimes well meaning, can have a huge negative impact on our players, referees, and officials.
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