Photo: Yahoo Sports
BY: COLIN BISH, SPORTS WRITER
As Mike Tyson said, “Social media made y’all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.”
No, I hope no one gets punched in the face.
However, I would not be surprised by such an outcome due to the recent actions of sports fans. While unruly sports fans have always been an issue, they have taken a more radical turn as of late.
During Game 4 of the World Series, Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts made a running catch before running into the right field wall. Before Betts could make his way back on the field, two Yankees fans grabbed his arm and ripped the ball from his glove.
Betts, the Dodgers team, the right-field umpire and stadium security were rightfully upset by this blatantly dangerous act, as was anyone who has any regard for the wellbeing of athletes.
However, showcasing a lack of remorse, one of the fans said they would defend “our area,” per ESPN. He basically admitted they weren’t afraid to physically prevent opposing players from catching the ball.
If you watch the video, Betts makes the catch in the field of play, making it a different argument for fan interference if he reaches out of play into the stands. Nonetheless, nothing excuses grabbing an athlete as they’re doing their job.
Disrespectful fan interactions continued this past Saturday in State College, Pennsylvania before the highly anticipated Ohio State-Penn State football game.
NFL great and former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce joined in the College GameDay festivities, only to be met by a kid with a phone in his face saying a homophobic slur,
“Hey, Kelce. How does it feel your brother’s a f***** dating Taylor Swift?”
Kelce reacted immediately, turning around, grabbing the kid’s phone and smashing it on the ground.
I feel like now is a great time to sit down and acknowledge the truth: sports fandom is dying.
Many have recently argued in defense of these morons, claiming that fans heckling players have always been a part of sports.
Understand this: trash talk is much different from blatant assault and homophobic verbal harassment.
This is not something that should be normalized or tolerated. I’m all for fans and players talking trash; Spike Lee basically laid the blueprint, and it’s been fairly civil since then.
But it’s time we realize that social media has corrupted sports fans. These people don’t want to interact with these athletes like they are human beings; they want to use these athletes as props for attention and likes on Instagram or Twitter.
I can’t believe I have to remind people of this but remember: athletes are people. They obviously don’t take kindly to being harassed, or have family members invoked because they date a famous singer.
I also acknowledge the tone-deaf argument of, “They’re athletes, they get paid millions, they’ll be fine.”
Still, nobody should be getting harassed, no matter their profession or how much money they make. And it’s not specifically the professionals; in fact, collegiate athletes have seen an alarming rise in fan harassment.
A recent NCAA study, in collaboration with Signify Group, found that at least 12% of publicly posted social media abuse could be traced back to “angry sports bettors.”
To go even further, the study flagged 743 abusive messages related to betting or match-fixing allegations. On top of this, female athletes received about 59% more messages than their male counterparts.
And yet I’ve only scraped the tip of this iceberg.
So remember, athletes are people too. They deserve the same decorum and respect as non-athletes, all day and every day.
bishcj22@bonaventure.edu
