Absence of Safeguards and Image Conflict: A Public Opinion Analysis on the Career Transition of Retired Athletes

Abstract The "Wu Liufang Incident" --a landmark case of a retired athlete transitioning into an "attractive streamer" --exposes core contradictions in their career transitions, including survival pressures, ethical controversies, image conflicts, and systemic safeguards. This study employs computational communication methods through LDA topic modeling and SnowNLP sentiment analysis, combined with a self-built three-dimensional emotion lexicon, to analyze 28,697 valid comments across 23 official media platforms. Key findings include: (1) Temporal-spatial distribution of public discourse and emoji usage; (2) Overall and phased emotional patterns; (3) Core discussion themes. The research reveals a bimodal evolution of public sentiment, predominantly positive with widespread support for athletes' career transitions. Thematic analysis highlights four key issues: "legitimacy of career transitions versus public support", "survival pressures versus inadequate state guarantees", "ethical controversies versus image conflicts" and "internet-sourced satirical expressions". Conclusions indicate public understanding of athletes' challenges while supporting their legitimate career choices, though dissatisfaction with insufficient state support systems remains. These findings provide insights for policy refinement and targeted public opinion guidance.