When women athletes transgress: an exploratory study of image repair and social media response

Abstract

Following the violation of laws or social norms, professional athletes commonly work to improve their public image and protect their livelihoods. Yet little research has focused on image repair efforts or their reception for women athletes. We consider the cases of two transgressions that took place in 2016: soccer player Abby Wambach’s arrest for driving under the influence and tennis player Maria Sharapova’s admission of a failed drug test. Using Benoit’s image repair theory, we examine each athlete’s image repair strategies on Facebook and Facebook users’ responses. Wambach used mortification and corrective action strategies, while Sharapova used evading responsibility and reducing offensiveness strategies. While there was some rejection of the athletes’ image repair strategies, most users accepted the athletes’ arguments, emphasized their support, and engaged in additional image repair work on behalf of the athletes. We consider contextual factors related to Facebook responses to the athletes’ image repair strategies.