7 Famous Athletes you don’t want to mess with on social media

Once we’re seated in front of our pocket-sized robots, everybody becomes keyword warriors. We vent our frustration at the sight of anything displeasing, lash at anyone who doesn’t agree with us, and scream our opinions on subjects like we make the rules.

This has been the habit of many ever since social media came into our lives. It has given voice to the voiceless, fame to the unpopular, and courage to the timid, so much so that it is now a haven for abuse.

I don’t know how you react on Instagram or Twitter to your favorite athlete or sports team performing woefully, but I want to tell you that there are some folks you don’t want to mess with on social media.

Not every athlete takes criticism with a pinch of salt.

You can say all you want to LeBron, lash out at Serena, and even curse Antetokounmpo, but you don’t want to say the wrong things to fellas like Brandon Marshall or Curtis Woodhouse.

While most athletes may take your criticism on the chin and pretend like they didn’t see it, these guys would call you out right away if you ever spew venom at them.

Without much ado, let’s get down to listing them so you know who to avoid the next time you wish to savage an athlete on social media.

1. Brandon Marshall

Although semi-retired, you still don’t want to get on the bad side of Brandon Marshall on social media. In 2014, a certain Instagrammer named Anthony Kalla from Southfield thought he could spew all he wanted at Brandon and get away with it. But, it turned out Brandon wasn’t ready to let that slide.

Entering Brandon Marshall’s IG comment section, Kalla spewed some disparaging comments regarding Brandon, his team – Chicago Bears – and his mom. 

Perhaps he thought Brandon wasn’t going to notice. But the Chicago Bears star did, and he served up a really tasty challenge toward Kalla, asking him to get in the ring with him if he had the “balls.”

To further make a mockery of Kalla, Brandon sent another response saying, “I give you 5k to get in a ring with me. If I lose, I’ll give you another 10k. If I win, you have to serve a 100 hours at an orphanage. Deal?”

Of course, the fight never happened, but the fact that Brandon wished to box Kalla’s face shows you that he doesn’t take thrashY comments on his page.

2. Dwight Howard

Everybody knows Dwight is quite friendly and good-natured. But you’d be wrong to assume he takes trolls lightly on social media. 

If your troll gets too extreme, Dwight will not hesitate to hit back at you. This is a lesson an ill-mannered Twitter user with the handle @uHateBre learned some years back.

See the tweets below:

In that tweet, Brittni was referring to Howard’s lack of NBA titles. But guess what Howard’s clap back was? 

Oh my Gosh, Lol!

3. J.R. Smith

Who doesn’t know Smith is hot-headed?

Perhaps Twitter trolls forgot who the man was. 

Both on and off the court, everybody knows J.R. Smith is not to be messed with. But as it is, some Twitter folks failed to realize that and chose to drag the former player in a series of bashing tweets while he was playing for the Knicks.

Following a 99-93 loss to the Miami Heat, the trolls, many of whom were angered Knicks’ fans, felt Smith was the reason their team lost the match.

So, they came onto his social media page to lash at him.

But he wasn’t ready to have that. From swear words to curse words, insults to cheeky remarks, Smith made sure he gave each and every one of his critics a fitting lashing. 

4. Curtis Woodhouse

Even if you’d troll everyone, at least learn to avoid boxers. Unfortunately, someone didn’t take the hint on Twitter, and he only had himself to blame.

Just a few moments after losing the light welterweight title to Shayne Singleton in 2013, a troll named @jimmyob88 attacked Woodhouse labeling him a “complete disgrace,” “laughable joke,” and “waste of spunk.”

Apparently, this didn’t go down well with Woodhouse, who later came online to demand that anyone who would provide him with the address and picture of @jimmyob88 would get a £1000 cash prize. 

As expected, he got the details. Knowing that a real fighter was on the hunt for him, @Jimmyob88 backed down and apologized privately to Woodhouse – a move Woodhouse made public.

5. Kevin Durant

It turns out even Kevin Durant is not immune to social media trolls. But rather surprisingly, KD has got the right replies for everyone. So be careful when entering KD’s comments next time.

In 2015, one of Double D’s Instagram followers commented on a motivational quote the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar made saying, “Westbrook is better than you.”

In a rather surprising style, Durant clapped back ferociously. 

Bonus Tip: Follow this link to get real human Instagram followers from Stormlikes. Just make sure you don’t mess with the wrong athletes once you become famous on Instagram.

6. Curt Shilling

I don’t know who you are or where you are from, but the last person you want to mess with is Curt Shilling’s beautiful daughter, Gabby Schilling.

You may troll the former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher all you want, but please steer clear of his daughter.

Apparently, the last people who failed to take the hint paid the price.

Once upon a time, when the retired pitcher used Twitter to congratulate his daughter on her recent softball success, a couple of Twitter trolls responded in a rather ill-fashioned manner. 

Angered by the reactions, Curt took to his blog to create a damning piece in which he placed the perpetrator’s embarrassing actions into proper perspective and outed them to boot!

7. Josh Neer

Where athletes like Brandon Marshall chose to let go of their intention to beat up a social media troll, Josh Neer actually went ahead to challenge and beat up a detractor in the ring.

After months of Twitter heckling from a 6’6″, 270-pound man named Patrick Martin, the UFC veteran decided it was time to put an end to all the madness and challenged Martin to a feud-settling fight at an Iowa-based gym.

Surprisingly, martin accepted. Perhaps he thought he stood a chance against the big MMA fighter. 

So, he came to Neer’s gym, and unsurprisingly, Josh Neer showed him why he’s being paid to beat people up.

To further rub salt in Martin’s wounds, Neer made sure he posted the video of him beating and throttling Martin.

The video went viral, and everyone learned to keep their distance from Josh Neer ever since.

Our Advice

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook are all exciting places to be. But be careful what you say there, especially when it comes to public comments in athletes’ boxes.

Because you never know how your target might react!