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‘Needs to stop’: Ohio State basketball’s E.J. Liddell speaks out about social media threats

Liddell said they weren't the first hurtful messages he’s received, but these ones ‘stuck out’ and that’s why he went public about it.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — “I just want to be treated how a person is supposed to be treated,” said E.J. Liddell, who took questions from reporters for the first time Wednesday morning.

Following his team’s loss over the weekend, Liddell received threatening and racist social media messages. He shared those messages on his Twitter account.

"I still don't understand why anyone would come at me like that. I definitely never hurt anyone like that in my life," he said.

Police are investigating and Liddell said he hasn’t heard any updates on the investigation.

He said his reason to go public with these messages was to reveal the hate that he and other athletes deal with.

“I just wanted to use my voice a little bit,” he said, “I have pretty tough skin when it comes to criticism.”

But he said this “needs to stop.”

When asked why not ignore the negative messages, Liddell said it’s “tough to ignore” because social media is our social life this year. “Social media is your social life honestly,” he said.

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