Kieran Donaghy has passionately defended the Kerry players amid rumours doing the rounds on Kerry WhatsApp groups about a team meeting.

Donaghy told OTB AM how he feels the wildfire of unsubstantiated claims on social media is a major problem for those involved as it has severe ramifications on their lives inside and out of sport - with no repercussions for the source.

Kerry WhatsApp

"It is frustrating; I saw what Darran O'Sullivan said yesterday and I would echo it. It is frustrating for a Kerry person, a past Kerry player, when you see these people around you," Donaghy said.

"There were two fellas in the office that came in saying 'Did you see this going on?' and I was like 'Really lads?' Are we really going down the road of believing everything?

"It is a dangerous, dangerous tool this WhatsApp, it is so easy to start something fake on it, it so easy to put something together and put it out there.

"We all have to look at ourselves; what we get and what we pass on to other people. We have to take a real look at ourselves."

Serious repercussions to Kerry WhatsApp

Everyone will have received something unsolicited or unsubstantiated, and Donaghy reiterated that there are real-life repercussions for what appears on the small screen.

"These are someone else's lives that we are talking about on a more serious matter. Yes, there's a bit of gossip and a bit of jargon. But there were players mentioned in that WhatsApp message that I know the calibre of the guys.

"I hope they did go at the management inside in that meeting, I hope they did demand more. I hope they did lay down the law from the players' side of it.

"Both management and players put their lives on hold to represent Kerry and try and do what as best as possible for their county."

'Bullshit'

Donaghy believes that team meetings are ultimately positive for forming cohesion between the group.

"They know that whatever Peter Keane and the management did in Páirc Uí Chaoimh - I still said that a lot of that sat with the players' performances. Yes, a lot of that sat with the management and the way they were set up and told to play.

"Everybody should have been taking responsibility at that meeting - I hope the management challenged the players to bring more; bring more in a knock-out game, bring more edge and tenacity.  Don't back down, get really at it if you are going to be representing Kerry - every game should be like your last if you have the green and gold on.

"I hope that conversation was both ways in this meeting and, if it was and there was stuff cleared out, it can only be good.

"But the stuff that comes out when people hear there is a meeting, all it takes is one guy to put a WhatsApp message together. He could make up absolutely anything he wants, send it to ten of his groups and ten groups could send it on to another 100 people, who sent it to 1,000 people.

"It just spreads like wildfire, and it is complete bullshit at the end of the day."

Defending individuals

Donaghy defended the characters of those mentioned in the Kerry WhatsApp messages, saying that he does not believe what was said.

"It is very frustrating for the team and very frustrating - I would imagine - for players like Paul Geaney and David Moran who were mentioned.

"[They] would never do anything like that; if they had an issue, they would say it straight up to the management and the management could chop them down or agree with them.

"It is very frustrating to see; very frustrating for the players and Peter Keane because he'll look at himself and know that he got a of things wrong, and look at freshening things up.

"But the disappointment level in that dressing room would have been catastrophic for that group."

'Fireworks'

Donaghy said he has been in Kerry meetings that reflect the character of an extremely driven group of players, 'where paint would be coming off the walls'.

"There are fireworks. That is very good and very healthy for a group. What do you do to fix a problem? Sit down, say nothing and go talking behind each others' backs?

"Or do you address the issues, go straight to the point and go toe-to-toe to try and come to some sort of agreement about how you are going to bring this thing forward?

"I hope that happened in Kerry and, if it did, it can do nothing but help the team going forward."

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