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- Agency chair states activity by X’s AI tools “runs directly counter” to its values
- Volleyball England also suspends X account with immediate effect
Sport England has suspended its account on X, with the public funding agency noting the social media network “increasingly promotes and monetises an environment that is hostile to women and girls”.
The organisation is responsible for distributing funding for grassroots sport and community projects, as well as driving participation levels in physical activities across the country.
In a blog post, Chris Boardman, chair of Sport England, cited his concerns around “abhorrent outputs” tied to X’s artificial intelligence (AI) tool Grok, which have “contributed to the amplification of and worse, normalisation of, misogynistic content”.
“That runs directly counter to what we stand for,” Boardman wrote, noting that the agency’s decision to distance itself from the platform had received support from “the vast majority of people we’ve heard from”.
X, the network previously known as Twitter, has come under increasing backlash after it emerged Grok was being used to create sexualised images. UK regulator Ofcom has now launched a probe into the platform, with the support of the UK government, which has pledged to enforce a law that will criminalise the creation of non-consensual images.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has since received assurances from X that it will comply with UK regulations.
Boardman welcomed the government’s commitment and Ofcom’s probe, noting the agency had last summer called for action in response to several England women’s national team soccer players receiving both sexist and racist abuse.
“Last summer, we urged action on the horrific sexist and racist abuse being levelled at our Lionesses,” Boardman wrote. “Alongside these actions, we have to make choices about where we show up as an organisation and where we don’t.
“Sport should always be a place where everyone feels safe and welcome. Those are values worth standing up for. When a space undermines that, walking away is not weakness – it is a responsibility. People must always come before platforms.”
Boardman also called out X for becoming “a less effective way for us to do our job”, and noted the tone of online discourse had “grown increasingly divisive and reductive”.
“We recognise that some people and organisations believe staying in difficult spaces and challenging harmful narratives from within is the right approach,” he added. “We respect that view.
“For Sport England, however, stepping away from X is the right decision. It aligns with our values, supports our commitment to women and girls, and allows us to focus our efforts where they can have the greatest positive impact.
“Public bodies and regulators can only go so far. Platforms themselves have to act. Tech companies – particularly X – must take greater responsibility for the environments they create and the content they amplify.”
Sport England becomes the latest sports entity to cut ties with X, with the London Marathon also choosing to stop posting on the platform last year.
In addition to Sport England, Volleyball England has also suspended its X account with immediate effect. Its chief executive Charlie Ford said the platform’s AI tools “actively amplify misogyny and abuse, creating an environment that is incompatible with who we are and what we stand for”.
“This decision formalises a deprioritisation of the platform by Volleyball England that has been underway for years,” Ford added. “We would encourage our member clubs that use X to consider their continued use of the platform.”
Other organisations, such as The Guardian newspaper, have also stopped posting.
SportsPro says…
Sport has been a major driver of activity for X, which has become a popular outlet for news and social discourse. With its large user base, teams and organisations can easily reach fans and earn revenue by making announcements and posting content regularly on the platform.
However, since Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022 for US$44 billion, X has come under more scrutiny. The social network has seen an increasing usage of hate speech, as well as greater promotion of right-wing viewpoints and a growing spread of misinformation. Activity and engagement on the platform has also decreased, making it a less effective route to market for rights holders, brands and other sports-adjacent industries.
Sports organisations now face a choice on whether they can continue to risk their reputation by continuing to promote themselves on a network increasingly tied to content associated with misogyny.
However many rights holders remain committed to X, signing formal partnerships with the company and establishing dedicated portals. These include the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).
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