Be smarter, fans
By Vinny Lupo
On Sunday evening, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling fumbled on the second play of overtime, resulting in an Indianapolis Colts recovery and a Packers defeat. You may wonder why an article about a Week 11 game between two teams who have nothing to do with Colorado, minus a few alumni on the field, is being written by The Bold. But what happened following the game is something that needs to be talked about by every sports fan, no matter what team you root for.
Later that day, Valdes-Scantling tweeted that he had been receiving death threats on social media, many of them from anonymous accounts. He said that he was never afraid for his life, but that he wanted to share this information with the public to become more aware of the hate that athletes receive on a daily basis.
“It was just to get people to understand we’re humans too,” said Valdes-Scantling to the media on Monday afternoon. “We’re not just some number on a jersey, we are people first. Social media gives cowards the right to say whatever they want without any consequences.”
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram have given the public more access to high-profile athletes than ever before. Athletes receiving hate is not a new thing, but these sites have allowed these kinds of comments to gain more exposure.
These men and women are performing for our entertainment, they give us a product to watch every single week for many years of their lives. They put their bodies on the line just to give us something to cheer for, and people have the nerve to sit behind a screen and threaten them. It needs to stop.
We all need to take a step back and reevaluate what is important in our lives. If the result of a game, a fantasy matchup or a bet is causing you to take out your anger at the person who is providing you with this entertainment, please work on alternatives. For example, after the fumble, I went and chopped down a tree stump with an axe. It felt great. Better than yelling at a guy that I don’t even know who felt terrible about his mistake.
Athletes are not robots. They are our friends. They are our classmates. They are our role models. They have feelings. They struggle with mental health just as much as one of the fans in the stands does. Social media has been great at connecting people and sharing information, but sometimes, the negatives outweigh the positives. Last night was one of those times.
So, the next time you are upset over the outcome of a game (which is okay, don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome to be passionate about sports), think before you act. Don’t threaten one of your peers, someone who worked their butt off to be in the public eye in the first place. We all make mistakes, but a lot of times they are done privately. Don’t be one of the people that causes a story to be written about this.
