Cole Beasley’s costly muffed punt in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ game against the Giants on Sunday was, as one would imagine, not received well among Dallas’ fan base. Or angry fantasy football players. Either one. In any case, Beasley received a lot of grief on Twitter despite sending an upstanding tweet.
I apologize to all the fans. I must be better. Thanks for all the support from the true fans. You know who you are. #cowboysnation
— Cole Beasley (@Bease11) October 26, 2015
Verbal attacks happen far too often on Twitter (and social media in general) because they empower people with a direct line to the target, but with the safety nets of distance and sometimes anonymity. It’s no wonder that athletes like Buffalo Bills receiver Sammy Watkins lash out on social media. But it wasn’t Beasley himself who lashed out. Rather, Beasley’s wife went off on Twitter to those criticizing her husband before later deleting her account.
But speaking on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Beasley came to his wife’s defense:
It’s funny because she’s always the one trying to keep me from saying stuff on there. She sent me a text after the game apologizing. She knew she messed up. She told me, “My body just got so hot.” I was like, “Well, it happens sometimes.”
I didn’t get mad at her. I understand. It’s hard. It’s something we kind of need to stay away from, but it happens, so whatever.
Beasley knows about this all too well, having lashed out at social-media trolls before. It’s understandable he’d defend his wife on this. Verbal attacks don’t just affect the person targeted; they can hurt that person’s family and close friends.
Getting verbally abused on Twitter is an unfortunate expectation, which isn’t to say it’s acceptable. However, just know that when an athlete makes a mistake, no one feels worse about what happened than they do.
(Via FTW)
