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Buckeyes' E.J. Liddell Receives Threats After Loss to Oral Roberts

The university plans to take the necessary actions to address the comments immediately.

Wilton Jackson

Ohio State forward EJ Liddell shared a series of tweets that include threats and insults of his character following the Buckeyes' 75–72 overtime loss to Oral Roberts in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday

Liddell, who scored a team-high 23 points and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, said he does not typically allow abusive or vulgar "comments" to get to him and credited the university for always being there to support him.

"Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? I am human," Liddell said.

"I’ve never done anything to anyone in my life to be approached like this," Liddell said. "This is not me saying anything negative about Ohio State fans. I love you all dearly and I’ve felt nothing but appreciated since the first day I stepped on campus."

The following tweets contain vulgar, explicit language. 

Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith posted a statement to Twitter on Saturday, saying that authorities will be involved and his support for Liddell.

"I will support our student-athletes in and out of competition, " Smith said. "I have nothing but love and respect for E.J. He epitomizes all that we hope for in our student-athletes."

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Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann spoke out and said the comments directed to Liddell are "not from or representative of Ohio State fans."

"Recent social media comments to EJ Liddell are vile, dangerous and reflect the worse of humanity," Holtmann said. "EJ is an outstanding young man who had a tremendous sophomore season and he was instrumental in our team's success. We will take the necessary actions to address this immediately."

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Wilton Jackson
WILTON JACKSON

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