LONDON: In this social media age — when anything can be filmed, posted online and go viral within seconds — one has to wonder how some of the biggest names in sport fail to be sufficiently savvy to avoid being caught behaving questionably. It has been a particularly startling few days in that regard. A Manchester United fan captured on his smartphone the moment Liverpool legend and TV pundit Jamie Carragher spat at him and his 14-year-old daughter in the face of very light goading after United’s 2-1 win over the Reds. The shocking video showed Carragher pulling up alongside the fan’s car, winding down his window and, quite visibly, spitting at them. Hardly the behavior befitting a former England player and club captain. Meanwhile, footage from last year emerged this week of England Rugby’s head coach Eddie Jones making foul-mouthed and derogatory comments about his Six Nations rivals Wales and Ireland. Jones’ faux-pas is all the more astounding when you consider his remarks were made at a sponsor’s talk on leadership, in front of prominent executives and a host of cameras. Both have since apologized unreservedly. The former was lampooned on live television for what he did and has since been suspended by his employers. The latter will no doubt get a stern dressing down from the Rugby Football Union. More pressing for upcoming action on the pitch, England face Ireland this weekend in a crunch Six Nations match. The visitors will now need no extra motivation to land a Grand Slam at Twickenham after Jones’ “scummy Irish” comment. It was utterly brainless conduct from both men, who should certainly know better given their prominent positions and influence. And the power and influence that many of the biggest names in sport have, should be engendering a much savvier approach when dealing with social media. Today, cameras cover every angle of sporting action. Thanks to the rise of smartphones, cameras now also cover everything away from the stadia and arenas. Yet, as distasteful as Jones’ and Carragher’s behavior was, we must be careful not to drive athletes away from social media, which has brought fans closer than ever to their sporting heroes. But there is something wrong with the dynamic when stars are expected not only to maintain perfect conduct when competing but also offer a flawless facade away from competition, while there are no ramifications for fans who often cross the line between jovial banter and outright abuse. It is a double-edged sword for athletes. We see the cycle of online comment-followed-by-apology time after time in the sporting world. Forget being caught off-guard by a camera thrust in your face, just using social media platforms can cause problems for athletes. Superstars such as Lewis Hamilton, Lance Armstrong and LeBron James have all been criticized and verbally attacked for sending out what some called “unsavory” or “controversial” content. Issues often arise when athletes share content outside their professional remit and use their social media channels as a platform to make a political or social stand — several US athletes have come in for a barrage of abuse and criticism for sharing an opinion on current affairs in their country. And herein lies the issue and a worrying future for social media use by sporting icons. Neither fans nor the media want to see a clinical sponsor-controlled persona — they want the real person to shine through. But if an athlete is abused or lambasted any time they give a peak behind the curtain or share an opinion, we are going to be left with timelines and feeds full of bland corporate messages and pre-approved soundbites. Despite superhuman feats of sporting prowess, athletes are mere mortals too. And like us, they should face the consequences when their conduct crosses that line of honest opinion into offending or harming others. But on the flip side, again like us, they also deserve basic decency and respect. Social media should be a way of building genuine engagement between fans and sportspeople, in a way traditional media can never achieve. A touch of common sense from both sides will do wonders for building that engagement. Unfortunately, what should be a two-way street is currently a one-way path full of potential pitfalls.