26
Nov
CODE Sports
'We have to act': Game's bid to block out online trolls
Dejan Vasiljevic of the Adelaide 36ers poses during the NBL26 Season Launch at Courtside on September 02, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images for NBL
Basketball Australia, the NBL and WNBL have joined forces with Social Protect to address the issue
- Social Protect isa platform which identifies and removes abusive comments on social media
- Adelaide 36ers DJ Vasiljevic said he gets "worked up" about attacks on his family
- The WNBL, NBL and Basketball Australia have joined forces with Social Protect
Fed up Australian basketballers have welcomed a move to tackle “vile” online abuse via an app whose founder is determined to make a difference after having a young family member attempt suicide due to cyber bullying, writes Matt Logue from Code Sports Basketball.
Code Sports revealed the NBL, WNBL and Basketball Australia have joined forces with Social Protect, an online safety platform helping athletes, teams and organisations protect themselves from harmful online interactions.
Social Protect – founded and created by CEO Shane Britten – is a real-time platform that identifies and removes abusive comments across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Discord by tracking over two million abusive words and phrases in more than 100 languages.
The timing of the partnership is of paramount importance given online abuse aimed at Australian basketballers has never been more frequent.
NBL and WNBL players told Code Sports how death threats, racism, sexism, abuse and misogyny is rife and a daily occurrence for some players. Sports gambling interest in the NBL space has increased significantly in recent seasons on the back of the competition’s rise.
Bets involving individual players are particularly problematic, but the abuse extends beyond being motivated by gambling.
Adelaide 36ers sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic has been subjected to countless vilifying messages throughout his career, including death threats, and says the time has come for authorities to crack down harder to “stop the abuse”.
“The fact that some people think it is OK to jump on social media and message us directly saying, ‘you’re s**t’ and ‘go kill yourself’ just shows that people live a very sad life,” Vasiljevic said.
“S**t days happen and I know that everyone is human.
“I get worked up about it. I’ve had cracks at me, but if you include my mum or my family, I will take it to the highest possible level and you will face the consequences.”
For the full story on Code Sports Basketball, click here.
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