Mark Sanchez can't buy a break this year. First, his New York Jets brought in Internet demigod Tim Tebow to create a quarterback controversy in the sports-media capital of the world. Then, he was just plain bad. Then he got even worse, and created a new NFL play -- the now-legendary butt-fumble:
Sanchez's season finally reached a new low point this week when disgruntled Jets fans used Twitter to harass him with death threats following another poor performance on Monday Night Football. The threats prompted the NFL to follow up with the Jets, according to USA Today, but details of the discussion between the team and league were not revealed.
Multiple users tweeted death threats, but messages from someone by the handle of @BraveGrancru, which promised "bullets everywhere" at a Jets practice on Wednesday, drew the most attention:
While those tweets were alarming, it's not the first time that aggressive fans have threatened pro athletes on Twitter during the past year. Last January, a fan threatened San Francisco 49ers receiver Kyle Williams after he likely cost the team a Super Bowl berth with a pair of horribly timed gaffes.
At that time, death threats via Twitter seemed shocking if not unprecedented. Since then, however, ugly fan abuse from behind backlit screens has become increasingly common, prompting some observers to speculate that unchecked harassment could become a threat to the platform's appeal for athletes and celebrities.
For his part, @Grancru admitted to drinking during the game, and apologized for the tweets when contacted by the Newark Star-Ledger. He also pointed out that he's not the first -- nor, surely, the last -- to post such messages.
"People get threatened every day on Twitter," @Grancru is quoted as saying. "Because it's Mark Sanchez it doesn't make it (any different). If I'm in trouble, everyone should be in trouble, you understand what I'm saying? I apologize, it was wrong my remarks, but they're just tweets.
"It's not like I'm in a stadium shouting in his face, I'm not going to his house or going to practice. It's just a tweet. It's my account and I tweeted something."
Do you think celebrity death threats on Twitter should be taken seriously, or ignored? Give us your take in the comments below.
Image credit Getty Images/Getty Images Sport/Nick Laham
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