Aliyah Boston used to love being on social media, but the trolls and haters ruined the experience for her.
The Indiana Fever star quit social media earlier this season amid a barrage of online harassment from what she called “couch coaches” and sports bettors. She said she feels better now that she’s not subjecting herself to that social media abuse.
The second-year WNBA star sat down with Megan Armstrong of Uproxx’s Dime this week to talk about her decision to leave social media and how that’s changed her attitude.
“For me, it was really just the constant noise. I love to be on TikTok or even just open up social media and scroll,” Boston said. “But I feel like every time I opened up it up, there was something about me or something about our team. I don’t internalize a lot of stuff, but when you continue to see stuff over and over again, I mean, it makes it hard not to second-guess yourself.
“And I feel like, yeah, I needed to take that step back so I can make sure that I know what I’m doing. I know that I’m confident in myself, my game. And so, it really helped because I didn’t have to worry about what other people were saying about me. I knew that what I was doing was enough.”
Boston said some social media trolls will say terrible stuff just for “clickbait,” but she knows there are many who just have “hatred in their heart.”
“People forget that we’re human, and the moment that you put the human perspective into it, it should change what you say,” Boston said. “At the end of the day, if this was your daughter, your niece, your cousin getting hate spewed toward them, you would want to make it stop. I just feel like people should really just think about what they post. I know people do a lot of stuff for clickbait, but there are also some people that really just have that type of mindset and hatred in their heart.
“As players, it’s about continuing to focus on us and our mental health. If we look at everything people say, we’ll have a really hard time getting past some stuff. I wish people would think before they type because if they were in this position, they wouldn’t want that.”
The Fever have turned things around after a 2-8 start. They’re 11-15 and solidly in the playoff chase heading into the final month of the regular season.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.