What is With Pro Cyclists And Social Media?
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What is With Pro Cyclists And Social Media?
First Simmons and now Dygert. Number one rule of anybody involved in an industry where income is based on sponsor dollars is don’t put your opinion out to the public on social media. It’s there forever and very difficult to walk back. Use your social media like Peter Sagan does. He uses it to thank his team and give his sponsors exposure.
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Not just pro bike riders. It's most everyone where their persona or brand is in the public domain. People might disagree with cancel culture, but the first amendment doesn't mean you can express yourself with zero consequences.
No matter which side of opinions you are on.
People also vote in our economy with how they spend their money, and that's their right. When athletes and business owners choose to participate in social media and take sides.......people see it. Then they can decide what they think.
But, I agree. If your social media presence is even remotely "part of the job"........keep it to work only.
The Kap thing.......personally I didn't feel it disrespected the "flag" and all the meaning people put into it in choosing to be offended. People have hijacked the American flag for ages to serve their own purposes. Altering it's colors significantly or placing meanings in it that are self serving. However, even if the anthem was not a traditional "part of the job" for athletes.......it's still that persona thing. And your 1A rights can come with consequences. I support him taking his stand, but his stand can have consequences when it was with his employer. I hate it for him.
I can't go out as an employee of a major corporation and if on a national spotlight choose to take on views they might not all share while wearing my company logo swag. That wouldn't work.
As far as her like of "white privilege doesn't exist"........when debating it with someone it is much easier to say "there's talks that black parents have to have about things black kids can't do growing up". Nobody in their right mind can deny the talks those parents have to give kids like "son, you can't run while wearing your hoodie" or "you can't wear a hoodie at night in that area".
The other problem is that in their mind it doesn't exist simply because it isn't universally true for all black people to experience that. OK, how many people have to experience that for you to acknowledge it? 50%? 75%? 90%?
There's a great book on this topic that's a story about the move away from white nationalism of Don Black's son Derek. Both who were leaders in the white nationalist movement and leaders of Stormfront.
Book is "Rising Up Out of Hatred".
No matter which side of opinions you are on.
People also vote in our economy with how they spend their money, and that's their right. When athletes and business owners choose to participate in social media and take sides.......people see it. Then they can decide what they think.
But, I agree. If your social media presence is even remotely "part of the job"........keep it to work only.
The Kap thing.......personally I didn't feel it disrespected the "flag" and all the meaning people put into it in choosing to be offended. People have hijacked the American flag for ages to serve their own purposes. Altering it's colors significantly or placing meanings in it that are self serving. However, even if the anthem was not a traditional "part of the job" for athletes.......it's still that persona thing. And your 1A rights can come with consequences. I support him taking his stand, but his stand can have consequences when it was with his employer. I hate it for him.
I can't go out as an employee of a major corporation and if on a national spotlight choose to take on views they might not all share while wearing my company logo swag. That wouldn't work.
As far as her like of "white privilege doesn't exist"........when debating it with someone it is much easier to say "there's talks that black parents have to have about things black kids can't do growing up". Nobody in their right mind can deny the talks those parents have to give kids like "son, you can't run while wearing your hoodie" or "you can't wear a hoodie at night in that area".
The other problem is that in their mind it doesn't exist simply because it isn't universally true for all black people to experience that. OK, how many people have to experience that for you to acknowledge it? 50%? 75%? 90%?
There's a great book on this topic that's a story about the move away from white nationalism of Don Black's son Derek. Both who were leaders in the white nationalist movement and leaders of Stormfront.
Book is "Rising Up Out of Hatred".
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I didn't buy a set of signature snowboard boots I liked because the rider was a conspiracy theorist. He got dropped by the brand and they redid the same boots without his ish on it.
Now if I need boots again i'll likely look at those first.
Now if I need boots again i'll likely look at those first.
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About a third of our population is not responsible enough for social media.... I have been on a gamer forum for 20 years and after that game died its turned into a racist, anti semitic, conspiracy theory site. Everything goes there, and it gets dished back from a few minorities and reasonable people that post there, but its far from acceptable. I rarely go there but in the last week I had to look at all the crazy conspiracies about the election, I can see how people get sucked in.
We have a mixed family, and we never bring up race at all. I've never had a talk with my nephew about race, just told him to be a good person. Throughout the years we've had to deal with low key racism (kids at school saying the n word, etc) but it really hit when he had to quit a job because one of the employees was constantly saying the n word and other things and it just became too uncomfortable. It was a family business, there wasn't going to be any discipline about it so he just left.
As far as her like of "white privilege doesn't exist"...when debating it with someone it is much easier to say "there's talks that black parents have to have about things black kids can't do growing up". Nobody in their right mind can deny the talks those parents have to give kids like "son, you can't run while wearing your hoodie" or "you can't wear a hoodie at night in that area".
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Social media is a double-edged sword - the exposure gained can be leveraged into money; or it can blowout in your face and impede your career. Soon people will get used to the "rules" (e.g. careful with the politics) and won't make so many mistakes.
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The NFL has a class that they have all rookies take that goes over the pitfalls off being a professional athlete. Maybe cycling needs a class like this.
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I’m certain that Canyon-SRAM knew who Chole Dygert is before they signed her. Not sure humiliating one of the best female cyclists in the world is the best strategy for getting more wins for team.
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Rapha isn't done shaming Chloé Dygert
Rapha thinks Chloé Dygert isn't sorry enough yet and beats on her some more and is being sent to a re-education camp.
I hope the only think Ms. Dygert is sorry for is signing on with these "woke" companies.
If companies want a winning team, then recruit the best. If you want riders that only adhere to far left wing "values" only hire them instead.
But don't shame people for having a different view point when your only purpose as a company is to provide us with recreational cycling gear.
From Rapha in my email this weekend:
"As you know, earlier this year we committed to fighting discrimination within cycling as part of our wider effort to promote diversity, inclusion and greater equality in the sport we love. It’s absolutely imperative that as we develop our relationship with this subject, we do so with integrity. So we are writing to you today to clarify our position on the actions of new Canyon//SRAM Racing rider Chloé Dygert who, back in June, endorsed racist and transphobic views on social media. Rapha wholeheartedly condemns these actions as they were offensive, divisive and have no place in cycling or society.
Since we became aware of this incident, we have taken time to fully investigate what happened, consulting with the rider, Canyon//SRAM Racing and other partners in order to take informed action in response. Having undergone that process, we believe that Chloé has made very serious errors of judgment, which were compounded by an apology she issued that was not sufficient. However, we also believe that trusting the ability of people to change is key to reaching any form of meaningful reconciliation. Having spoken to her at length, we believe that Chloé has the capacity and the will to listen, learn and to change.
All of us, the team and each of its partners, have acknowledged that we need to take action following this incident to ensure that this never happens again. Canyon//SRAM Racing have already taken clear steps to work with Chloé and is engaging with an external Diversity & Inclusion consultant in order to develop a comprehensive programme of diversity and inclusion training that focuses on dialogue and education. This is something that we believe will have a considerable impact within the team and beyond. Exact details of the program will be published by the team in the coming weeks.
As a result of our conversations, the willingness that Chloé has demonstrated, and the meaningful actions that Canyon//SRAM Racing is putting in place, Rapha will continue to support the team. Acknowledging that they, like us, must do more to promote diversity, inclusion and equality, Canyon//SRAM Racing has been instrumental in promoting women’s cycling over the last five years, and the continuation of this work should not be jeopardised by the actions of one person. This incident has been an opportunity for all of us to learn and understand how much more we can all do.
Finally, we would like to reiterate our stance on this issue once more. Discrimination has no place in cycling or society, and we are committed to fighting it in all of its forms by promoting diversity, inclusion and equality in the sport. There is no issue we take more seriously, and should there be any subsequent breach of these standards, the team will review the position outlined immediately. As part of this process, we will be reviewing our own working policies and practices to prevent similar incidents in the future. The last two weeks have served only to intensify our commitment to improve, starting with the actions outlined here.
"
I hope the only think Ms. Dygert is sorry for is signing on with these "woke" companies.
If companies want a winning team, then recruit the best. If you want riders that only adhere to far left wing "values" only hire them instead.
But don't shame people for having a different view point when your only purpose as a company is to provide us with recreational cycling gear.
From Rapha in my email this weekend:
"As you know, earlier this year we committed to fighting discrimination within cycling as part of our wider effort to promote diversity, inclusion and greater equality in the sport we love. It’s absolutely imperative that as we develop our relationship with this subject, we do so with integrity. So we are writing to you today to clarify our position on the actions of new Canyon//SRAM Racing rider Chloé Dygert who, back in June, endorsed racist and transphobic views on social media. Rapha wholeheartedly condemns these actions as they were offensive, divisive and have no place in cycling or society.
Since we became aware of this incident, we have taken time to fully investigate what happened, consulting with the rider, Canyon//SRAM Racing and other partners in order to take informed action in response. Having undergone that process, we believe that Chloé has made very serious errors of judgment, which were compounded by an apology she issued that was not sufficient. However, we also believe that trusting the ability of people to change is key to reaching any form of meaningful reconciliation. Having spoken to her at length, we believe that Chloé has the capacity and the will to listen, learn and to change.
All of us, the team and each of its partners, have acknowledged that we need to take action following this incident to ensure that this never happens again. Canyon//SRAM Racing have already taken clear steps to work with Chloé and is engaging with an external Diversity & Inclusion consultant in order to develop a comprehensive programme of diversity and inclusion training that focuses on dialogue and education. This is something that we believe will have a considerable impact within the team and beyond. Exact details of the program will be published by the team in the coming weeks.
As a result of our conversations, the willingness that Chloé has demonstrated, and the meaningful actions that Canyon//SRAM Racing is putting in place, Rapha will continue to support the team. Acknowledging that they, like us, must do more to promote diversity, inclusion and equality, Canyon//SRAM Racing has been instrumental in promoting women’s cycling over the last five years, and the continuation of this work should not be jeopardised by the actions of one person. This incident has been an opportunity for all of us to learn and understand how much more we can all do.
Finally, we would like to reiterate our stance on this issue once more. Discrimination has no place in cycling or society, and we are committed to fighting it in all of its forms by promoting diversity, inclusion and equality in the sport. There is no issue we take more seriously, and should there be any subsequent breach of these standards, the team will review the position outlined immediately. As part of this process, we will be reviewing our own working policies and practices to prevent similar incidents in the future. The last two weeks have served only to intensify our commitment to improve, starting with the actions outlined here.
"
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Rapha thinks Chloé Dygert isn't sorry enough yet and beats on her some more and is being sent to a re-education camp.
I hope the only think Ms. Dygert is sorry for is signing on with these "woke" companies.
If companies want a winning team, then recruit the best. If you want riders that only adhere to far left wing "values" only hire them instead.
But don't shame people for having a different view point when your only purpose as a company is to provide us with recreational cycling gear.
I hope the only think Ms. Dygert is sorry for is signing on with these "woke" companies.
If companies want a winning team, then recruit the best. If you want riders that only adhere to far left wing "values" only hire them instead.
But don't shame people for having a different view point when your only purpose as a company is to provide us with recreational cycling gear.
Tolerance for that b.s. is quickly waning, and it's long past due. That's a win not only for the company and the sport, but for humanity.
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I don't agree with miss Dygert's views and politics, but I think that it's super lame how she's been publicly humiliated by Canyon/SRAM. She had liked some conservative/right-leaning tweets before signing. I think it's highly unlikely that they didn't do their research and knew that she was conservative before signing, they just wanted the wins due to her talent. But they got called out and are now trying to retroactively save face.
Super unfortunate and embarrassing for Dygert IMO. Lantern Rouge did a good video on the issue.
Super unfortunate and embarrassing for Dygert IMO. Lantern Rouge did a good video on the issue.
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
#16
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First Simmons and now Dygert. Number one rule of anybody involved in an industry where income is based on sponsor dollars is don’t put your opinion out to the public on social media. It’s there forever and very difficult to walk back. Use your social media like Peter Sagan does. He uses it to thank his team and give his sponsors exposure.
These pros are still kids and need to be coached on more than athletics.
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In the case of both of these two, it was a self inflicted gunshot. Clearly, they learned nothing from the Kappernick incident. I get that they are young, however number one rule in athletics is don’t jeopardize the sponsor’s money flow. This is just a small blip in their careers and I am sure they learned from it.