Social media as a social cause support tool

I recently came across this photo posted on the celebrity gossip site, Perez Hilton. It sparked my interest because of all the negative press we hear about rugby players here in Australia. The national rugby team, the Wallabies, has teamed up with the Sydney Convicts, a gay rugby club, to promote an anti-homophobia campaign.


The photo initially appeared on the This is Oz, an anti-discrimination photo gallery site, and has since been posted on gay and lesbian sites as well as sports sites around the world. This campaign definetely breaks the stereotype of the typical macho rugby player who you wouldn't picture supporting gay rights.

While this campaign sets a positive example for rugby fans, what might happen if a player who didn't share these views made a homophobic slur? Certainly, this has happened before in sport. Would it ruin the campaign? Or do you think this would have made enough of an impact to outweigh the controversy?

Hopefully, these players will continue to use their celebrity and role model status to promote good causes and make headlines for positive reasons.