The dark side of fandom reared its very ugly head on after the Thursday Night Football game between the Eagles and Vikings.
Sadly, there are fans out there who think it's okay to abuse players on social media because of poor performance or major miscues. And unfortunately, a segment of those fans also think it's acceptable to use harmful racial slurs while doing it.
Vikings running back Alexander Mattison shared examples of that on his Instagram story with screenshots of fans who DMed him using shameful and violent language directed at his race. They also made references to self-harm. You can see those NSFW and potentially triggering posts here. For those who would prefer not to expose themselves to that kind of language, suffice it to say the messages were unacceptable in every context.
Vikings, NFL denounce fans who racially abused Alexander Mattison
The Vikings released a statement denouncing the fans who sent those messages.
"We are sickened by the hatred and racial slurs directed toward Alexander Mattison following last night's game. There simply is no room for racist words or actions in sports or society. The Vikings will continue to fight to eliminate hate, to educate and to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community that respects and values our unique backgrounds. We stand with Alexander and all players who, unfortunately, experience this type of ignorant and prejudicial behavior, and we ask our fans to continue to fight to eliminate racism."
The NFL also made a statement condeming the comments.
"The NFL strongly condemns the racist comments directed towards Alexander Mattison online after last night's game. Such hateful behavior is completely unacceptable in the NFL or anywhere else. We stand firmly with Alexander and remind fans to remember the humanity of all players and celebrate their contributions to the game we all love."
The statements are the least the team and the league can do. It takes strongly condemning racism and abuse at every turn to put a stop to it.
The Vikings drafted Mattison in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He was a backup to Dalvin Cook but has now taken over primary running back duties.
He had eight carries for 28 yards against the Eagles but lost a fumble. He was one of four Vikings players who fumbled during the loss. None of them deserve to be abused online because of it.