18
stem in sports: technology
However, with that access comes its own
set of risks. Athletes are human, often young,
and don’t always think before they tweet. Tech
expert Charles Blair told
Forbes
Magazine, “In
the old days, you had editors who could look
at press releases. Now everything is off the
cuff. There are no checks and balances.”
In 2014, former New York Giants running
back Derrick Ward was the latest in a line of
athletes whose posts earned them bad press
and criticism. He posted a note objecting to
the on-screen kiss between Michael Sam and
his boyfriend after Sam was drafted by the St.
Louis Rams. Don Jones of the Miami Dolphins
Top Athletes
on Twitter
The numbers go up and change all the time,
but in recent years, these are the athletes
with the highest number of followers on Twit-
ter. For comparison, Ronaldo had more than
75 million followers in spring 2014.
Cristiano Ronaldo
(soccer)
Lionel Messi
(soccer)
Dwayne Johnson
(pro wrestling)
Kaka
(soccer)
LeBron James
(basketball)
Neymar
(soccer)