Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
I did a Google search to find an article about the San Diego Chargers this morning and came across a story that made me sick to my stomach. According to Kevin Acee of utsandiego.com, Chargers running back Ryan Mathews said, “I’ve had people say they hope me and my mom get AIDS and die.”
San Diego completed a trade with the Miami Dolphins to move up 16 spots in the 2010 NFL Draft and chose Mathews to be the successor to LaDainian Tomlinson, one of the greatest running backs in NFL history .
Mathews has proven himself to be injury prone because he missed five games with a knee injury during the 2008 NCAA season, missed four games as a rookie in 2010 and missed four games last season.
In Mathews’ rookie season, he ranked 22nd in yards per rushing attempt and 25th in rushing yards per game. Mathews ranked 12th in yards per attempt and yards per game in 2011, but he ranked 23rd in yards per game and 32nd in yards per attempt to go along with a career-low one rushing touchdown last year.
I have been critical of Mathews and suggested that being the successor to Tomlinson may be too much of a burden for him to handle, but no one should ever wish death on another person because of sports.
If Mathews committed a serious crime against someone or their family, people would have a right to express such anger, but this is not the case. Wishing AIDS upon him and his mother is pathetic.
This is almost as sickening as the fan who held a sign that said “Would someone please stab Paul Pierce!” in reference to the Boston Celtics small forward needing lung surgery after being attacked at a club in 2000.
Chargers fans have every right to be upset with Mathews about his struggles on the field, but there is no reason for anyone to take things this far on Twitter.
