Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann walks with sophomore forward E.J. Liddell (32) after the Ohio State-Minnesota Big Ten Tournament game on March 11. Ohio State won 79-75. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After a shocking loss to Oral Roberts Friday, E.J. Liddell got on the bus to the team hotel, popped his earbuds in and shut his eyes.
Hours later and now en route to Columbus, Ohio State’s star sophomore forward checked his social media accounts and found hate-filled and threatening messages aimed at him.
Although this was not the first time he had received hurtful messages, Liddell said the two he later posted to Twitter “stuck out” and led him to use his voice.
“I just wanted to use my voice a little bit,” Liddell said. “I’ve been kinda quiet about it and I just keep pushing because I have pretty tough skin when it comes to criticism, but that wasn’t constructive criticism. That was just brutal and hardcore and that just didn’t sit right with me.”
The Illinois native said he did not expect his post to get as much attention as it did. With more than 29,000 retweets and 224,000 likes, the tweet provided an opportunity for fellow athletes to voice their support and speak out about their negative fan experiences.
Within the world of Big Ten basketball, Purdue junior forward Trevion Williams and Wisconsin redshirt senior guard D’Mitrik Trice offered their support while acknowledging similar experiences.
Despite his self-described toughness, Liddell admitted the messages he received impacted him.
“It definitely bothered me a little bit just ’cause I go out there with a smile on my face every game just ready to play basketball,” Liddell said. “Just for people to feel so ill about me after a couple turnovers or a missed 1-and-1 free throw, it just doesn’t sit right with me, because I have feelings too.”
Liddell pointed to his family as his support system in these situations as he’s been enduring negative comments since his senior year of high school.
“They told me, ‘Everybody has opinions, everybody has their opinions, and everybody feels a different way about you,’” Liddell said. “All I can do is just keep my head high and prove them wrong.”
However, due to health protocols surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Liddell was separated from his family for several months.
Not only was he away from his family for a prolonged period of time, but he and his teammates also sacrificed several other aspects of their social lives in order to play out the season.
Battling through an already emotionally taxing season, Liddell pointed to an under-appreciation from fans for all of the sacrifices made by the players this year.
“I definitely don’t think people really see how much we gave up, we were hesitant about everything,” Liddell said. “We had to just stay away from people and just get away from life honestly, just for us to sacrifice and play basketball.”
With a limited social life during the pandemic, Liddell said much of their social interactions landed on social media outlets.
“This year, social media is our social life,” Liddell said. “It’s not as easy to hit the power button, but it’s more easy to say ‘hit the power button.’”
Liddell said he and other athletes are trying to use their voices to speak out against hate-filled messages in the future. Specifically to his situation, Liddell said he is not looking to prosecute those responsible.
Although the messages were born out of hateful intentions, Liddell said he learned some valuable things from what followed.
“Just know that I’m not the only one going through things like this and it’s better to use my voice than to stay quiet all the time,” Liddell said. “I just use my voice and I feel like a lot of other athletes use their voices, and hopefully this can slow down and in the near future come to an end.”
