Athletes and burner accounts

Burner accounts are fake accounts used by people and celebrities to talk and post in third person about themselves to shit talk people they wouldn’t shit talk on their real account. Athletes commonly use burner accounts to defend themselves and to fight back against trolls who speak against them. Athletes may also use it take shots at colleagues since they know they will face harsh criticisms if they were to do so publicly. No one knows exactly which accounts are burners but it is very easy to detect based on their tweets and their activity.

History

Burner accounts have been in use since the beginnings of social media. It is primarily used by celebrities and athletes as a way to maintain privacy. Often celebrities and athletes are held to a much higher standard than normal people. So if they were to say something that may seem controversial, they will be scrutinized far more than someone else. It is also a way for them to be active on social media without others knowing what they are looking at. Legendary head coach for Duke Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, admitted to using fake twitter and instagram accounts to keep tabs on his players. The commissioner of the NBA, Adam Silver, also admitted to using fake accounts for this purpose.

Similarities

Burner accounts are not just limited to athletes or celebrities. Nowadays, many teenagers have fake accounts on Instagram called “finstas”. This is an account where teenagers share their deeper thoughts and feelings which they would not do on their regular account. They also carefully choose who follows their accounts knowing that they don’t want everyone to see what they are posting. This is very similar to a burner account because a “finsta” is where teens post things that may seem very controversial and they don’t want it to be something that defines them. There is a common understanding amongst teens that “finsta” posts are not meant to be offensive in any way but rather a way for someone to express their true feelings to a more selective audience.

Athletes using burner accounts

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant using his burner account to take shots at the Thunder organization

Even the best athletes are prone to using burner accounts. Kevin Durant is regarded as a top 3 player in the NBA but he is also known for his active use of burner accounts to clap back at trolls. He has even admitted to using them during an interview. He claims that there are some people who he needs to respond to to defend his legacy but knows that he can’t do it from his regular account because of the backlash he will receive. Durant was first caught using burner accounts in 2017 because he forgot to log out of his burner account. He was clapping back at a fan who asked him why he left the Thunder and he tweeted that he did not like his former coach and that he had no help. It is his way of standing up for himself without it being traced back to him. He also says that he doesn’t regret using a burner account but regrets using his coach’s name in the tweet.

Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown using his burner account to defend himself and call out a twitter user

Antonio Brown has been getting criticized a lot on social media for his behavior off the field. While Brown has not confirmed that he uses burner accounts, there is ample evidence that suggests that he does indeed have one. One piece of evidence is that the burner accounts only tweets at people that have trashed the wide receiver. Furthermore, the language is very similar to the way that Brown talks on his normal account. The last piece of evidence is that the account’s handle name is Tav58111115 and Brown’s middle name is Tavaris. In this case, the athlete did a poor job of concealing their identity but often many people will choose a handle name that they can remember which makes it easier to connect it back to them.

Jerry Colangelo

Jerry Colangelo using his burner account to take shots at an NBA player

While Jerry Colangelo is not an athlete, he was the president of the Philadelphia 76ers until rumors about him having several burner accounts that criticized players and members of the organization. He used burner accounts to criticize his players for their performance and their health. He also reportedly criticized the organization for some of their decisions. This wasn’t a case of someone looking to defend themselves but rather it was used as an instigator. It was used as a way to attack his colleagues without tracing back to him. He ended up losing his job and his reputation has been tarnished. Many of his colleagues criticized his use of burner accounts and said that he should have just explained his feelings himself instead of hiding behind a fake identity.

Ethical Implications

The first ethical problem with burner accounts is the idea of using them to get into heated arguments with other people on Twitter. One of the biggest problems with social media is when people engage in a war of words. Many disputes on social media involve the use of inappropriate language and remarks and can be viewed by almost everyone who uses the platform. Racial or sexual remarks are often used when engaging in a war of words and there is no place for that anywhere. It could lead to some people being offended or some tweets could be misinterpreted.

Another ethical issue is the use of a fake identity to share your thoughts or beliefs. There are people who believe that if you are going to attack somebody you should do it yourself instead of hiding behind a fake account. Stephen Jackson, a former basketball player, criticized Kevin Durant for using a fake identity because he believed that he should have been “man enough” to defend himself. He called him an "egg avatar" and said that he has no respect for him. Furthermore, there are people who believe that you should know who you are talking to on Twitter. If they knew that they were talking to Kevin Durant, they may not have said some of the things that they said.