Andrew Wiggins, the consensus No. 1 men’s basketball recruit in the class of 2013, announced today that he’d be playing for the University of Kansas Jayhawks this coming fall.
Within minutes of his announcement, his Twitter mentions were flooded with an endless wave of hate speech.
A number of fans from the schools Wiggins spurned (the University of Kentucky, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Florida State University) took to Twitter to express their frustration with his decision, to say the least. Bloguin.com captured a sample of those very-much-not-suitable-for-work tweets, for anyone who’s morbidly curious.
More than one person told the 18-year-old budding star that they hoped he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, simply because he wasn’t attending the school of their choice. Others called him basically every vile name you can possibly imagine.
These Twitter critics aren’t necessarily representative of their overall fan bases, of course. A number of fans from those schools took the classy route by sending their best wishes to Wiggins via Twitter, despite their disappointment.
It’s no secret that athletes of all ages face this type of backlash from disgruntled observers. Many find it particularly deplorable when it’s targeting a youth, however. Would he tore his anterior cruciate ligament, simply because he wasn’t attending the school of their choice. Others called him basically every vile name you can possibly imagine.
These Twitter critics aren’t necessarily representative of their overall fan bases, of course. A number of fans from those schools took the classy route by sending their best wishes to Wiggins via Twitter, despite their disappointment.
It’s no secret that athletes of all ages face this type of backlash from disgruntled observers. Many find it particularly deplorable when it’s targeting a youth, however. Would you want someone calling your 18-year-old child every curse word in the book just because of his or her college choice?
If not, let that be some food for thought the next time you see someone fire out a derogatory tweet aimed at a student-athlete wading through the already murky waters of the college-recruitment process.
Photo: Huntington Prep basketball player Andrew Wiggins, with his mother, Marita Payne-Wiggins at his side, announces his commitment to the University of Kansas during a ceremony on Tuesday at St. Joseph High School in Huntington W.Va. The Canadian star, a top prospect, averaged 23.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game this season for West Virginia’s Huntington Prep. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch/AP)
