Illinois center Kofi Cockburn became the second college basketball player in recent days to call attention to racist and threatening messages he had received after his team suffered an upset loss in the NCAA tournament.
Cockburn shared one of the comments he received on Instagram on Sunday, after top-seeded Illinois lost to Loyola Chicago. “Go back home ya bum,” a user wrote. “F------ lost to Loyola. Go sit your monkey ass on the couch.” Cockburn, who was born in Jamaica and moved to New York in 2014, replied to a screenshot of the comment: “I blame his parents.”
The University of Illinois confirmed that it was looking into the posts.
On Saturday, E.J. Liddell of Ohio State wrote about being threatened and harassed on social media after the second-seeded Buckeyes fell to Oral Roberts. “I hope you die. I really do,” one user wrote. Other messages were racist.
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“Honestly, what did I do to deserve this?'' Liddell tweeted along with screenshots of several messages. “I’m human.'' He went on to say that “comments don’t get to me, but I just wanna know why. I’ve never done anything to anyone in my life to be approached like this. This is not me saying anything negative about Ohio State fans. I love you all dearly and I’ve felt nothing but appreciated since the first day I stepped on campus.”
Ohio State sources told ESPN that the school had contacted police. “Recent social media comments to E.J. Liddell, while not from our representative of Ohio State fans, are vile, dangerous and reflect the worst of humanity,” Buckeyes Coach Chris Holtmann said in a statement. “E.J. is an outstanding young man who had a tremendous sophomore season and he was instrumental in our team’s success. We will take the necessary actions to address this immediately.”
March Madness 2021: Everything you need to know
Liddell, a 20-year-old sophomore from Belleville, Ill., said the torrent “kinda messed me up a little bit. People just watch the TV but like, off the court, I have a mom, a little brother, a big sister and they all care for me dearly,” he told CNN Monday. “I know they don’t want me to be talked about like that.”
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The response to his tweets that called out the abuse focused on the success he and the team had. “Everybody’s been telling [me] how much of the great season we’ve had and how much of a great season I’ve had individually.”
But, he added, “everybody could say constructive criticism, but sometimes people go a little bit too far.”
The trolling drew immediate condemnation from Barkley on the tournament telecast. “Why would you sit at your house and tweet, or send something to a kid … after he lost a stupid basketball game to give him death threats or hurl racial slurs at him?” he said. “You need to take a good look in the mirror and realize you’re just a frickin’ loser.”
Haskell Garrett, a defensive lineman for the Ohio State football program, called out fans and rose to Liddell’s defense, tweeting, “WE ARE MORE THAN JUST ATHLETES.”
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“To Buckeye nation and to whomever sports fan this may concern, if you call yourself a fan and supporter of the scarlet and gray or really any college institution or organization — then you shouldn’t be there only for the highs, but also the lows,” Haskell tweeted. “We are people outside of our respected sports. The messages we as athletes receive when we are not victorious are cruel and inhuman. Just think if that was your son or daughter receiving such messages.”
Cockburn shared one of the comments he received on Instagram on Sunday, after top-seeded Illinois lost to Loyola Chicago. “Go back home ya bum,” a user wrote. “F------ lost to Loyola. Go sit your monkey ass on the couch.” Cockburn, who was born in Jamaica and moved to New York in 2014, replied to a screenshot of the comment: “I blame his parents.”
The University of Illinois confirmed that it was looking into the posts.
On Saturday, E.J. Liddell of Ohio State wrote about being threatened and harassed on social media after the second-seeded Buckeyes fell to Oral Roberts. “I hope you die. I really do,” one user wrote. Other messages were racist.
AD
“Honestly, what did I do to deserve this?'' Liddell tweeted along with screenshots of several messages. “I’m human.'' He went on to say that “comments don’t get to me, but I just wanna know why. I’ve never done anything to anyone in my life to be approached like this. This is not me saying anything negative about Ohio State fans. I love you all dearly and I’ve felt nothing but appreciated since the first day I stepped on campus.”
Ohio State sources told ESPN that the school had contacted police. “Recent social media comments to E.J. Liddell, while not from our representative of Ohio State fans, are vile, dangerous and reflect the worst of humanity,” Buckeyes Coach Chris Holtmann said in a statement. “E.J. is an outstanding young man who had a tremendous sophomore season and he was instrumental in our team’s success. We will take the necessary actions to address this immediately.”
March Madness 2021: Everything you need to know
Liddell, a 20-year-old sophomore from Belleville, Ill., said the torrent “kinda messed me up a little bit. People just watch the TV but like, off the court, I have a mom, a little brother, a big sister and they all care for me dearly,” he told CNN Monday. “I know they don’t want me to be talked about like that.”
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The response to his tweets that called out the abuse focused on the success he and the team had. “Everybody’s been telling [me] how much of the great season we’ve had and how much of a great season I’ve had individually.”
But, he added, “everybody could say constructive criticism, but sometimes people go a little bit too far.”
The trolling drew immediate condemnation from Barkley on the tournament telecast. “Why would you sit at your house and tweet, or send something to a kid … after he lost a stupid basketball game to give him death threats or hurl racial slurs at him?” he said. “You need to take a good look in the mirror and realize you’re just a frickin’ loser.”
Haskell Garrett, a defensive lineman for the Ohio State football program, called out fans and rose to Liddell’s defense, tweeting, “WE ARE MORE THAN JUST ATHLETES.”
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“To Buckeye nation and to whomever sports fan this may concern, if you call yourself a fan and supporter of the scarlet and gray or really any college institution or organization — then you shouldn’t be there only for the highs, but also the lows,” Haskell tweeted. “We are people outside of our respected sports. The messages we as athletes receive when we are not victorious are cruel and inhuman. Just think if that was your son or daughter receiving such messages.”
