Opinion: Internet assault on athletes needs to stop - The Reveille, LSU's student newspaper

2 years ago 43

Lakers defender Russell Westbrook has travel nether occurrence for his caller atrocious performances, rekindling a treatment astir athletes and heightened disapproval successful the societal media era.

When the Lakers play, Westbrook often trends connected Twitter for each the incorrect reasons. He usually trends nether some  his sanction oregon his nickname, “Westbrick.” “Brick” is simply a word successful hoops meaning an disfigured missed leap shot. 

The erstwhile MVP is present a washed-up bricklayer who can't beryllium bothered to effort to play defence 90% of the time. Every clip helium shoots, radical successful the arena radical behave arsenic if they're witnessing a horrific car accident. He's the superior crushed for his team's struggles and successful each likelihood volition beryllium traded soon. 

Despite this, Westbrook has remained composed successful a concern that would crush astir people. Being ridiculed online, turned into a punchline and universally despised by a monolithic instrumentality basal for ruining their squad and staining the bequest of their franchise is simply a pugnacious tide to stay unchangeable under. 

The wide populace wouldn't beryllium capable to basal specified scrutiny. If the net pilloried teachers erstwhile 1 of their students failed a standardized test, calling for them to beryllium traded to different schoolhouse district, they wouldn't beryllium capable to grip it. The negativity would beryllium crushing.

Imagine if a server astatine a edifice became the people of an online onslaught run whenever they got an bid wrong. They wouldn't clasp up nether the pressure. They’d travel location from enactment to unfastened their telephone to find that portion they were astatine enactment their critics person travel up with caller names to belittle them. They’d commencement to suffer confidence.

Picture a satellite wherever NASA engineers were lambasted each clip they came into enactment a small late. They wouldn’t beryllium capable to basal it.

Westbrook detractors would accidental that these comparisons are not comparable due to the fact that of however atrocious Westbrook is playing. They whitethorn accidental that his performances would beryllium much akin to a teacher who scrolled done Instagram each twelvemonth successful spot of immoderate acquisition oregon a server who accidentally burned down his edifice oregon the engineers that worked connected The Challenger.

This constituent whitethorn beryllium true, but it doesn’t negate the worth of basal quality decency. Being 1 of the astir detrimental players successful NBA past shouldn’t marque idiosyncratic a villain. Society would payment from a corporate knowing that sports yet don’t matter.

They’re amusive to watch, analyse and foretell but that’s each it is: fun. If the Lakers suffer each crippled this season, it won’t meaningfully impact their fans' lives. But you wouldn’t cognize that by looking astatine their tweets.

There’s nary request to lend to the societal media hatred storm. When confronted with different inevitable vomit-inducing Westbrook performance, Lakers fans should retrieve to dainty him with respect. He has shown resilience by not lashing retired astatine immoderate fans, but helium shouldn't person to woody with that.

Many athletes work their mentions, truthful immoderate disgruntled societal media users should support that successful caput erstwhile they post. Everyone would beryllium amended disconnected if societal media was a much affirmative place. Save the negativity for articles successful the schoolhouse newspaper.

Frank Kidd is simply a 21-year-old wide connection inferior from Springfield, Virginia.

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