SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 22: Strong safety Budda Baker #32 of the Arizona Cardinals celebrates after a defensive stop against the Seattle Seahawks during the game at CenturyLink Field on December 22, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Image: Getty)
On his Twitter account, Monday Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker tweeted a DM he received from a San Francisco fan that used several racial slurs to threaten Baker. This came a day after the Cardinals week one 24-20 win of the 49ers. In his tweet, Baker said, “I’m all good with opposing fans talking trash. But This right here man… All you can do is pray for ppl like this.”
On Tuesday, the 49ers released a statement condemning these comments: “The San Francisco 49ers unequivocally denounce the racist messages sent to Budda Baker. The individual who sent the messages does not represent the 49ers or the Faithful. Per team policy, we are working to identify this person and will ban them from all 49ers games and events. Incidents like this demonstrate how much work remains to be done to address racism and hate in our society. We remain steadfast in our commitment to that work.”
While there are many unfortunate aspects to Twitter and the sports Twitter community, it seems like hateful acts by fans of certain teams to other players have only increased over the past few years now that they have a platform for hate. “Sadly, these incidents occur far too often,” team CEO Jed York said on Twitter. “Permitting these individuals to go unchecked allows racism and hate to spread. I urge other teams in the world of sport to consider our policy of banning those who seek to tear others down with racial slurs and threats of violence.”
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