The world of professional sports often inspires passion and excitement, but it can also lead to dangerous and frightening experiences for those close to the athletes. Such was the case for Anna Horford, the sister of Boston Celtics’ PF Al Horford. She recently revealed the horrific threats she received after a recent game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Celtics and Lakers faced off in a highly anticipated game on January 31, 2023. The game was filled with intense moments, but one particular play had fans and commentators talking.
With just a few minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Tatum drove to the basket, going up for a layup. James attempted to block the shot, but Tatum’s arm appeared to make contact with James’ arm, causing James to shake it off in pain.
The play was reviewed by the officials, but no foul was called on the court. James went on to finish the game, but the impact of Tatum’s hit was felt long after the final buzzer.
Al Horford has helped the Celtics establish themselves as one of the best teams in the league so far this season. But when his sister tweeted jokingly: “The Oscar goes to LeBron James”, the Lakers’ fans went wild.
It came as a shock and indeed hurt The Lakers fan. You can definitely make fun of your opponents, but everything has a limit, and it turns out Horford’s sister crossed it. Lakers fans also did not take much time to even their wounds but also this time they ended up crossing the limit.
AI Horford’s sister is mostly active on Twitter during Celtic games in support of her brother. But fans didn’t tolerate this tweet. She reported that she has been constantly getting death and rape threats. She deleted that tweet later but kept on reposting fans’ tweets showing the horrible threats she has been getting.
Please help me report. https://t.co/mPEMUOF7NW
— Anna Horford (@AnnaHorford) January 29, 2023
This shit is unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/eYRa0JBjN3
— Anna Horford (@AnnaHorford) January 29, 2023
Amidst this hatred and criticism, some fans supported her and she also shared her gratitude toward them. “Thanks to everyone who has had my back the past few days. I’ve gotten an overwhelming number of notifications & messages of kindness & I really appreciate it.”, Anna tweeted.
After this incident, she stated that she has learned how “dark and hateful” things can get on the Internet. She shared that her intentions were never to get involved in any dispute and whenever she feels things are getting out of hand, she always takes a step back. “The reason I share or retweet these threats is that the more attention they get, the more likely they’ll be removed,” she said.
In this incident the Lakers’ fan base was terrible. Anna herself stated that she never said anything to receive death or rape threats. But at least James handled the issue with humor, thanking Tatum for his “block” on Instagram jokingly.
