Sport England suspends presence on X amid concerns over safety
Sport England has suspended its presence on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, with the public funding body accusing the site of “increasingly promoting and monetising an environment that is hostile to women and girls,” reports BritPanorama.
Chairman Chris Boardman announced the decision in a blog post, highlighting what he described as “abhorrent outputs” from the platform’s artificial intelligence tool Grok. According to Boardman, these outputs “have contributed to the amplification of and worse, normalisation of, misogynistic content” and “runs directly counter to what we stand for.”
This decision coincides with media regulator Ofcom’s investigation into X, prompted by concerns that Grok is being used to generate sexualised imagery. Ministers have welcomed this inquiry and urged for its prompt completion.
Sport England, tasked with enhancing physical activity across the nation, distributes government funding and National Lottery money to grassroots sports initiatives. Previously, the organisation expressed “deep concern regarding the recent wave of racist and sexist abuse” aimed at the England women’s football squad on social media platforms.
Boardman stated, “Sport should always be a place where everyone feels safe and welcome. Those are values worth standing up for. When a space undermines that, walking away is not weakness – it is a responsibility.” He pointed out the growing challenge of navigating online spaces that foster hostile environments.
Research published by the BBC last month found over 2,000 highly abusive messages directed at figures from the Premier League and Women’s Super League in a single weekend, with X accounting for 82 percent of this abuse. The platform has previously indicated that users creating illegal content through Grok would face consequences similar to those for direct uploads.
The ongoing tensions reflect a broader debate about the role of social media in public life, a reminder of how digital spaces can both empower and endanger, especially for women in sports.
