Following the Buckeyes’ NCAA tournament loss on Friday, Ohio State administrators contacted police about threatening and disparaging social media messages sent to sophomore E.J. Liddell. After the second-seeded Buckeyes were beaten by No. 15 seed Oral Roberts 75-72 in overtime, Ohio State deputy athletic director for communications Dan Wallenberg informed the Associated Press that he called authorities on Saturday morning about the threats Liddell received.

Liddell, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds in the game, said he got threatening remarks on Twitter. He shared photos of the notes, including one that read, “I genuinely hope you die.” Racist remarks were also contained in the messages. “Honestly, what did I do to deserve this?” says the narrator. Liddell made a tweet about it. “I am a human being.” Liddell had missed a one-and-one free throw attempt near the end of regulation, which may have prevented Oral Roberts from forcing the game into overtime. The rhetoric used towards Liddell, according to Ohio State sports director Gene Smith, is “appalling” and “will not be condoned.” “To the handful of you who have chosen to rant against our players on social media in an improper manner, stop,” Smith urged. Hatred and mockery have no place in Buckeye Nation or civil society. You will hear from the authorities if you cross the line and threaten our players. That is a promise I make to you. I have nothing but admiration and admiration for E.J. He embodies everything we want in our student-athletes.” Players from Virginia Commonwealth University were sent home from the NCAA tournament after testing positive for the coronavirus. Chris Holtmann, the head coach at Ohio State, defended Liddell as well. On Twitter, Holtmann wrote, “Recent social media insults to E.J. Liddell, while not from or representative of Ohio State fans, are ugly, dangerous, and reflect the worst of humanity.”
“E.J. is a fantastic young man who had a fantastic sophomore season and was a big part of our team’s success. We will take all required steps to rectify this as soon as possible.” Liddell claimed he was not “saying anything terrible about Ohio State fans” by sharing the threats and insults.
“I adore you all, and I’ve felt nothing but gratitude from the moment I arrived on campus,” he remarked. Liddell expressed his surprise at being targeted by the messages. “Comments don’t reach me, but I’m curious as to why,” he explained. “I’ve never done anything to anyone to be approached like this in my life.” MarketWatch contributed to this article.
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