After watching their New England Patriots’ season come to an end last Sunday in a 28-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game, Patriots fans took to Twitter to express their frustration.
Apparently, that meant feeling the need to heckle Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith over the death of his brother, Tevin.
Smith wrote on his Twitter account (@TorreySmithWR) that Patriots fans had sent him several “rude” messages since the game referencing the loss of his brother.
Smith’s brother died in a motorcycle accident in September before the Ravens’ regular season match-up against the Patriots. Smith still decided to play in the game and caught six passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the game in the Ravens 31-30 win over New England.
Against the Patriots on Sunday, Smith led the Ravens with 69 yards receiving on four catches during Sunday’s win over New England.
Many Patriots fans have since sent messages to Smith apologizing on behalf of their fellow fans that felt the need to lash out at Smith with the disparaging comments about his brother. Sports can bring out the worst in people, especially in a medium such as Twitter that allows such instant reaction to be directed at its participants. Yet, taunting a player about the death of a family member is way beyond anything that should be deemed acceptable under any circumstance.