Excessive Criticism Toward Players...Pro Baseball Players Association Vows Strong Response

"Leaving the Current Situation Unaddressed Is Not an Option"

The Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (the Players Association) has called for restraint regarding excessive criticism from certain fans on social networking services (SNS).

On September 4, the Players Association stated, "From August 20 to 24, we conducted a survey on SNS-related damages among domestic professional baseball players, with 163 participants." The association pointed out, "If the current situation is left unaddressed, there is a significant risk that the misuse of SNS will become more sophisticated and spread more widely." They added, "Going forward, we will define any unreasonable and malicious incidents as 'cyber terror on SNS' and will respond strongly at the association level."

The survey found that SNS-related harm most frequently occurred right after the player’s team lost or the player made an error (56%). Additionally, 15% responded that such harm continued throughout the season regardless of specific situations. The primary victims were the players themselves (49%), followed by parents (31%), and spouses or girlfriends (13%). The main types of abuse included criticism of performance (39%) and slander against family members or acquaintances (29%).

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Last month, the Players Association also issued a warning regarding inappropriate messages from fans through SNS. At that time, the Players Association said, "There is growing concern that the thoughtless actions taking place on the SNS accounts of professional baseball players have already crossed the line."

They further emphasized, "This can never be considered healthy criticism or loving admonishment; it is nothing more than irresponsible venting." The association pointed out, "Such thoughtless acts cause professional baseball players to lose confidence and, furthermore, inflict harm on Korean professional baseball as a whole."

Additionally, they stated, "We earnestly ask professional baseball fans to join us in preserving and developing our proud cheering culture and striving for the better growth of Korean professional baseball. The Players Association will also work to foster a healthy cheering culture in domestic professional baseball, serving as a bridge between fans and players."