No place for toxic fandom culture in sports domain

A 31-year-old man was detained and fined by public security authorities last week for repeatedly posting insulting remarks targeting Olympic diver Quan Hongchan in a WeChat group he created for diving fandom. He was charged with provoking rivalries and inciting conflicts.

The episode serves as a stern warning to those who recklessly attack others from behind screens and marks an important step in China's efforts to crack down on toxic fandom culture.

In a recent interview, 19-year-old Quan, the youngest Chinese Olympian to have won three gold medals — who is going through the difficult "developmental transition" threshold for female athletes — tearfully asked netizens to stop cursing her, especially her family and friends.

It put the spotlight on the online bullying Quan has endured for the past three years, thrusting the chaotic scene of fandomization — or the unhealthy growth of fan circles in sports — into public view.

A few days later, the Guangdong Provincial Sports Bureau, where Quan is based, reported the matter to the police. The General Administration of Sport of China issued a statement supporting legal action to protect the legitimate rights and interests of athletes and resist the toxic fandom culture.

Fandom culture refers to groups of fans voluntarily rallying to support or promote their idols. Whether in entertainment or sports, fandom can positively empower cultural and sports industries by encouraging artists and athletes.

But when distorted, it evolves into an exclusionary culture that has become a global problem. At tennis tournaments, for instance, fans have been known to use flashlights to distract opponents and hurl verbal abuse in support of their preferred players.

There is no doubt that toxic fandom is eroding Chinese sports. Some people turn stadiums into battlegrounds of fan rivalries, forcibly polarizing athletes, inciting confrontations, digging up private information, fabricating rumors, engaging in baseless personal attacks, and as seen in Quan's case, even organizing premeditated online mob bullying. Such behavior undermines the healthy development of sports.

Toxic fandom culture has caused severe harm to many athletes. Chinese men's table tennis player Wang Chuqin said, "Toxic fan culture makes people increasingly extreme and makes athletes increasingly exhausted."

At the national two sessions in March, Wang Liqin, chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said that distorted sports fandom was "damaging the image of sports, distorting the spirit of sportsmanship, and even affecting unity among athletes." In recent years, the authorities have taken a tough stance against toxic sports fandom, but Quan's case shows that the menace has not been completely stamped out.

Toxic sports fandom did not emerge overnight, nor is it caused by a single factor. To remedy the situation, efforts must go beyond merely focusing on fans and address the deeper structural causes.

The irrational development of fan culture is a product of the interweaving of entertainment-oriented thinking and commercial logic in the age of digital communication.

An athlete with a large fan base has tremendous commercial value. When athletes are packaged as entertainment idols, fan loyalty and enthusiasm become part of a consumer economy built on distorted fandom. The business model originally designed for entertainment stars, when transplanted into sports, can take on an even more inflammatory form.

Similarly, in the era of mobile internet and social media, we must guard against the infiltration of traffic-driven economics, which risks trapping sports in the clutches of commercial distortion.

While anyone can post anytime and anywhere, algorithms tend to amplify controversial and antagonistic content. A provocative comment generates far more engagement than a rational discussion. Online conflicts translate directly into daily active users, time spent on platforms, and the advertising revenue that follows. Driven by the logic of traffic monetization, the arena becomes a battlefield between fans and haters.

Tackling toxic fandom culture is a complex issue. One key reason why it has persisted is the lag in legal regulation. That is why the action taken in Quan's case is a milestone. While advocating for true sportsmanship, the fundamental solution for curbing the distortion of sports values lies in drawing clear legal red lines for capital operations, platform management and content dissemination, as well as refining the standards for identifying and punishing violations such as cyberbullying, personal information leaks and fake traffic manipulation.

At this year's two sessions, Gao Zhidan, director of the General Administration of Sport of China, vowed to take "both short-term and long-term measures with a heavy hand" against sports fandom chaos. At the same time, the Cyberspace Administration's special campaigns have extended into the sports domain.

Undoubtedly, the battle is progressing in full swing.

The author is chief researcher at the China Watch Institute, China Daily.