The San Francisco 49ers suffered a heartbreaker loss to the New York Giants in Sunday night's NFC Championship Game. The turning point of the evening came in overtime. After the Niners defense had stopped the Giants for the second time in the first OT quarter, Kyle Williams fumbled a punt return which gave New York excellent field position and led to the game-winning field goal.
The fumble was Williams' second gaffe of the game, both of which led to Giants scores. After the game ended, Twitter exploded with shameful comments badmouthing Kyle Williams and addressed to his personal Twitter account. It was a gross display of the worst aspects of professional sports fandom, with most people going over the top with venomous tirades. Some of the tweets were tantamount to digital-age death threats.
Thankfully, many 49ers players were quite vocal in supporting their teammate following the game. Here are a few Twitter comments from various 49ers player accounts:
@Cullyinthehouse
Chris culliver Please dont send @KyleWilliams_10 no death treats WE LOVE U BRO!!!
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@ASnyds68
Adam Snyder @KyleWilliams_10 hold your head high bro. You had an amazing season. I'm proud to be your teammate.
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@PatrickWillis52
Patrick willis @KyleWilliams_10 keep ur head up. U r my brother n teammate N I would put u back there all over again. We all lost this game tonight not u.
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It is a shame that so many people who consider themselves 49ers fans decided to get ugly over the unfortunate fumble. Williams is only in his second year of professional football and was playing his role in the Championship Game as a result of a Ted Ginn Jr. injury. Williams likely still has a bright future ahead of him and will hopefully provide many more opportunities to redeem himself and provide 49ers fans with a great many more positive memories than negative ones.
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