Athletes are targets everywhere they go. Twitter is no exception, and it can get quite frightening and bizarre.
New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs tweeted out a picture of death threats he received, reportedly while sitting out the team's first victory of the season Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings.
Look at what we deal with.. pic.twitter.com/YfP960gShS
— Brandon Jacobs (@gatorboyrb) October 22, 2013
This is serious business, even if the Twitter user @DMMeBoo claimed he was kidding. The matter has been turned over to NFL Security, according to the New York Daily News. NFL players such as Matt Schaub, Roddy White, Ray Rice and Chris Johnson have been victims to Twitter harassment recently, but a death threat — real or not — takes the madness to a different level.
The issuer of the threat, listed as "Andre Raynor" on his profile page, followed Monday night's tweets with a series of all-caps apologies Tuesday morning, asking for Jacobs to re-tweet those to his follower. Raynor's account was deactivated later on Tuesday. Another Twitter user named "Eric White" also fired a rant at Jacobs, apparently upset that his fantasy team suffered with White out of the lineup.
@gatorboyrb next time tell us you're not playing before I have to set my lineup #ilostbecauseofyou #droppingyou #pussy — Eric White (@_EricWhite) October 22, 2013
Jacobs responded to White with a choice reply.
@_EricWhite F**k you and your fantasy team.. This is my real life..
— Brandon Jacobs (@gatorboyrb) October 22, 2013
Twitter can be an ugly place, and Jacobs has every right to be angry. Although it appears that the threat was not a real one, that's not the issue. The fact that someone could summon such vitriol over such a silly issue is truly frightening.

If you're weeping for society after reading this, you might not be alone.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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