Tennis Players Caught Up In Social Networking Deceit

The Lawn Tennis Association has suspended two of Britain’s top junior players for “unprofessional behavior” and “lack of discipline”.

David Rice, the second-best British junior and Naomi Broady, the national Under-18 champion, have both had their funding withdrawn after the association was notified that photos publicizing their partying and drinking were posted up on Bebo, a social networking site. It has been confirmed that the two have breached their contracts with the LTA that requires them to act professionally.

Roger Draper, LTA chief executive says, “It’s about taking responsibility, being accountable and sorting their lives out…I don’t think sometimes they realize the opportunities they’ve been given”.

Dean Evans from Tech.co.uk says, “It's the latest example of how employers are starting to judge the attitude and lifestyle of their employees by looking at personal photos on sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace”.

I think that anyone who wants to put up photos to display drinking, smoking, partying, etc. should be able to do so. When it comes down to it though, it reflects upon our own image. There is this funny little thing called a ‘reputation’ that I think people sometimes forget about. What happens behind closed doors is of nobody else’s business but our own. However, when we post pictures and videos of it for everyone to see, we need to take responsibility for our own actions.

Personally, I see benefits to the new trend of employers creating pages on social networking sites. I think that they can be used to our advantage, to show our bosses or potential bosses, our true personality. You know, the things that aren’t important enough to put on our resume. What my interests are, what I like to read, my favorite movies and whatever else a typical profile shows.

In fact, one of my employers and I both have profiles on Facebook. We joke about some of the things that are in my profile, but she says that it was a side to me she never would have known and been able to appreciate.

This post is in response to the article found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7010983.stm