Colorado State defensive back Henry Blackburn received death threats for this hit on Travis Hunter. (Photo: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
A pair of cases of cyber threats and harassment have shaken American football in the United States. Alexander Mattison, running back for the Minnesota Vikings, and Henry Blackburn, safety for the Colorado State Rams, have been subjected to abuse by pseudo fans.
Direct threats to a college athlete
The case of Henry Blackburn has been highly publicized in recent days, after the player and his family received multiple threats. During the Colorado Buffaloes win over Colorado State, Blackburn took a hard – and controversial – hit to the Buffaloes’ star receiver, Travis Hunter. The hit, for which the safety was penalized 15 yards, kept Hunter out of the rest of the game and he will miss a few weeks of play.
By the time the match ended, the personal phone numbers of the player and his mother had already been made public, and they have since received multiple death threats.
Jay Norvell, head coach of the Rams, indicated that they have already notified campus police and reiterated his support for the player’s actions. Norvell indicated that these types of plays happen sometimes, but that it was without the intention of causing harm to his rival.
Another who came out to defend Blackburn was Deion Sanders, head coach of Colorado. Sanders, who in just three games has turned the Buffaloes program into one of the most popular nationally, condemned the attacks on the rival player.
“Henry Blackburn is a good player, who had a phenomenal game. He gave Travis a tremendous blow in the band. You can call it a ‘dirty’ hit. They can say that ‘this is how soccer is played’. Whatever the case, he should not be receiving threats,” Sanders said at his press conference.
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Attacks on Mattison through social networks
Alexander Mattison #2 of the Minnesota Vikings also received racist insults on social media. (Photo: David Berding/Getty Images)
Mattison released a couple of messages in which fans attacked him online last week after the Vikings’ 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In the game, Mattison fumbled
“I hope the 60+ people who decided to attack me with disgustingly disrespectful messages tonight in DMs and comments really reflect on what you’re saying and how it could really affect someone under my helmet,” Mattison explained in an Instagram Story.
Among the messages sent in his publication were racist attacks and suicide themes that generated the player’s reaction. The Vikings responded with their own post, expressing their support for the running back and condemning the words directed toward him.
“We are sickened by the hate and racial slurs directed at Alexander Mattison after last night’s game. There is simply no place for racist words or actions in sports or society,” the statement read, where they also reiterated their support for the runner.
An all too common theme and not only in American football
Threats to athletes have been too frequent and are not limited to just one sport. Just a week ago, Zoe Maguire, mother of Manchester United and England defender Harry Maguire, sent a letter asking for the attacks on his son to decrease, who was once again the object of ridicule for an own goal in the duel between England and Scotland. Maguire has even received bomb threats at home throughout his career.
After constant criticism, Harry Maguire pointed out that he is already used to living with threats. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
In July, Gianluca Prestianni, a 17-year-old soccer player for Vélez Sarsfield in Argentina was hit while traveling in his car and later threatened by club fans, who sent messages to his personal cell phone. Juárez FC full-back, Luis “Chaka” Rodríguez, was also the subject of threats when he was a member of Tigres for a poor performance in the duel between Mexico and the United States in 2021.
In the NBA, players like Russell Westbrook, Matt Barnes and Danny Green, among others, are among the players who have received warnings. Until now, no way has been found to eradicate the problem in its entirety. The messages are usually investigated and some arrests have been made, such as that of a harasser of soccer players from the América and Tigres women’s teams.
In the end, Sanders summed it up perfectly: “At the end of the day, this is a game. Someone must win. Someone must lose. And everyone goes on with their lives the next day.”
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