Ohio State University Basketball Head Coach Chris Holtmann condemns racist and dangerous threats against black player following the team’s loss in the NCAA March Madness tournament.

Standout sophomore, E.J. Liddell, has reportedly received numerous social media messages riddled with racial epithets, homophobic slurs and even death threats following the team’s loss to Oral Roberts.

“Your reaction is almost that a parent would when one of their kids is being attacked and you immediately go into protection mode and you get angry,” Holtmann said. “You want honest retribution.”

According to Holtmann, Liddell is handling the situation with as much grace and composure that a 19-year-old could do in his position, praising his calm demeanor with dealing the comments.

“He’s handled it with the kind of grace, maturity and authenticity that you would expect with someone of his character,” Holtmann explained.

Liddell, in a tweet, expressed his confusion on what exactly caused such a vile response to the team’s loss asking what did he ever do to deserve this.

Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? I’m human. pic.twitter.com/djXzhSH0q8

— E.J. Liddell (@EasyE2432) March 20, 2021

Many celebrities and basketball icons have spoken out what happened with Liddell pointing to personal experiences throughout their careers. Most notably, NBA legend and sports commentator Charles Barkley, in post-game review, slams the culprits saying this is why he doesn’t have any social media.

“Number one, he had a great game, but for you to give this kid death threats and hurl racial slurs at him because you’re safe in your own home like a coward, behind a computer and nobody knows who you are, you need to take a hard look at yourself in the mirror,” Barkley says during the discussion.

Charles Barkley on EJ Liddell harassment from fans on Instagram “I’m never gonna dignify these losers and interact with them ever, I don’t care how much money some offers me, I’ll never do social media because of this” pic.twitter.com/fCpgC0O12f

— gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 20, 2021

Courtesy of FoxSports

Liddell has filed a formal report with the university’s campus police department and Holtmann guarantees that Liddell’s safety is the top priority for the institution.

An investigation into locating the perpetrators is underway and Holtmann believes that this incident reflects the worse in people.

“I tend to think a lot about this saying that hurt people, hurt people.”

Visit Stopthebullying.gov. for more information and support against Cyber Bullying.