updated from 4/5/24
You know these people.
Theyâre not on the team.
They hold no stock in the game.
Maybe they donât even have money riding on it.
The players, the coaches, the trainers, the staff, the custodians â none of them know these âfans.â
And yet…
They feel entitled.
Entitled to scream curses.
To throw threats.
To clutch onto rage when their team loses.
What they do off the court is potentially dangerous â not just a blown fuse, but a prelude to abuse: domestic violence, sexual violence, threats⌠even murder.
đ When Real Life Doesnât Pause for Sports
The latest attacks on Angel Reese expose something ugly: racism and toxic attitudes toward outspoken women.
Because if youâre a male star â Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan â trash talk is part of the spectacle. Youâre hyped. Celebrated. Even romanticized.
But when a young Black woman speaks with fire â they tell her she âdeserved it,â she âearned it,â she âdisrespected the game.â Her confidence becomes an offense.
Hatred. Death threats. Racist commentary. The kind that compares a Black woman to âa dog.â From people like Emmanuel Acho, among others.
Because thereâs big money in sports.
And some believe protecting the âbagsâ is worth more than protecting flesh and blood.
đŻ Why âItâs Just Sportsâ Is a Dangerous Excuse
Because violence tied to games doesnât stay on the field or in the arena. It spills into homes, neighborhoods, communities.
Because the same aggression that rallies fans can become rage against loved ones, strangers, the vulnerable.
Because blaming it all on alcohol or saying ânot all fans do thisâ hides the truth:
For too many, sports become permission to shift pain into power.
We patch up the narrative about abuse when we say âonly playersâ are at risk â but ignore the fans in the seats, the sidelines, the streets. That is denial.
â Womenâs Rights â Human Rights â Must Demand Real Accountability
As someone whoâs stood with survivors for decades, I know this clearly:
We canât allow the myth of âharmless sport aggressionâ to give cover to predators.
We canât let record-breaking numbers as âviewership,â âmerch,â or âticket salesâ stay more important than human lives.
This isnât just about fans acting out.
Itâs about culture condoning silence, aggression, and the devaluation of women â especially Black women.
đŁ To My Brothers in the Crowd, the Mic Holders, the Armchair Coaches
If you feel entitled by a game loss â your rage is not about the scoreboard. Itâs about something deeper.
Ask yourself:
Why does losing a game make me feel weak â so weak that I want to lash out?
Who hurt me so badly that I believe I need to punish someone else to feel safe?
When did cheering stop being about love for the game â and become about reasserting control?
Thereâs another way to be tough:
Standing down when anger hits too close to home.
Holding each other accountable before someone else pays the price.
Reminding other men: you donât get to treat women like an audience for your pain.
Because abuse is never just a game. It has real names. Real bodies. Real consequences.
đĽ Itâs Time to Change the Narrative
Sports can be beautiful. Glory, strength, community.
But that light canât blind us to the dark corners lurking at the edges â the men claiming power with threats, with violence, with hate.
Letâs stop ignoring the scene off the court.
Letâs stop protecting the âbags.â
Letâs start protecting people.
Because a scoreboard doesnât heal a broken body, a broken spirit, a broken home.
Only accountability and truth can do that.