Ursula Jacob says she is proud to have taken a stand last summer in highlighting the ‘nasty, tasteless’ social media comments made about her as an analyst on The Sunday Game.
The former Wexford camogie captain felt compelled to release a statement on the issue last July, and a flood of publicity and attention followed.
However, the four-time All-Ireland senior camogie championship winner has no regrets over drawing such attention to the matter.
“I felt it got to the stage where enough was enough,” says Jacob. “A lot of people were saying, ‘ignore the trolls’, but sometimes you do need to stand up.
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“To be honest, I’m very proud I stood up for myself because I have received a massive amount of support since then. I’m not looking to change those people, who obviously have very little going on in their own lives, but sometimes you have to express how you feel, you have to express that it is not acceptable on any level.”
Jacob, who was pregnant at the time and has since given birth to baby Brídín, feels the stance allowed her to take back control of a situation which had started to impact both her and her family.
“I’m very open to anybody disagreeing with my opinion,” she continues. “But I’m not open to somebody making personal remarks about me, about my voice, my accent or whatever.
“As I said at the time, I’m very proud to be from Wexford and I’m not looking to change for these people. I’m also not there to make up numbers, I’m there because I have a voice, I have an opinion and I’m willing to give that opinion.
“I’m not naïve enough to think the trolls are going to go away, but I definitely feel a sense of power now because they are not going to bother me going forward.
“For me, a negative situation that was impacting me has completely turned to a positive thing because it has helped me regain confidence in myself as well.”
Jacob says the backing she received from her colleagues on The Sunday Game helped massively during the testing period last summer.
“They have been nothing but supportive. They get abuse too, but I suppose I just felt it was a bit more targeted and nasty towards me. You do get a thick skin, but sometimes you have to call these cowards out.
“It was important for me to stand up. At the time I was six or seven months pregnant. I didn’t know if I was having a boy or a girl. I was like, well, I want to be a positive role model for my child, going forward. I want to be able to say it is okay to stand up to bullies or someone who is trying to be nasty.”
Jacob was speaking at the announcement Electric Ireland had agreed a sponsorship deal for the All-Ireland minor and third level camogie championships.
“Camogie over the years have struggled to keep players actively involved and for me this is a really positive move,” she says.
