There were a number of upsets on the opening day of the 2021 NCAA Tournament’s first round, but perhaps none bigger than 15-seed Oral Roberts’ overtime victory over two-seed Ohio State.
The Golden Eagles (or as they’re now known, THE Oral Roberts University), had a grand time celebrating their victory. However, on the other side of the court, there wasn’t much for the highly favored Buckeyes to enjoy. The players probably felt pretty terrible at the final buzzer sounded and as they collected their thoughts in the locker room. But for Buckeyes forward E.J. Liddell, who led the team with 23 points and 14 rebounds, that pain was compounded by what was awaiting him on social media. And now the police may be involved.
Per ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, Liddell received threatening direct messages from multiple fans, one of whom threatened to find him and physically hurt him. Liddell posted screenshots of the message on his Twitterfeed. Fair warning, there is some disturbing and offensive language in both.
Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? I’m human. pic.twitter.com/djXzhSH0q8
— E.J. Liddell (@EasyE2432) March 20, 2021
“What did I do to deserve this?” asked Liddell. “I’m human.”
Ohio State quickly jumped to Liddell’s defense. Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann issued a statement defending his player.
“These comments, while not from or representative of Ohio State fans, are vile, dangerous, and reflect the worst of humanity. EJ 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 here at the University to address this immediately.”
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith also released a statement and noted police involvement will follow.
“The threatening social media attack E.J. Liddell faced after the game yesterday is appalling and will not be tolerated,” Smith tweeted Saturday morning. “To the few of you who have chosen to inappropriately rail against our players on social media, stop. Hate and derision have no place in Buckeye Nation or in civil society. If you cross the line and threaten our players, you will be hearing from the authorities. That I promise you.”
“The vast majority of Buckeye fans recognize that no one is more disappointed in our unexpected early departure from the NCAA tournament than our coaches and players. They put in all the work and sacrificed considerable freedoms, especially during the COVID pandemic. To all of you who reached out with compassion, I thank you.”
As for Liddell, he followed up the initial tweet by adding that he’s not scared but he would appreciate an explanation for why people would feel the need to send these kinds of messages to a student-athlete putting all of his energy into representing his school.
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.
— E.J. Liddell (@EasyE2432) March 20, 2021
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.
— E.J. Liddell (@EasyE2432) March 20, 2021
“Comments don’t get to me but I just wanna know why,” Liddell said on Twitter. “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.”
[ESPN]
