As March Madness unfolds, collegiate athletes face immense mental pressures exacerbated by social media scrutiny. A study reveals that one in three high-profile athletes receives abusive online messages, with female athletes facing threefold harassment compared to their male counterparts. UCLA's Kiki Rice notes harassment often follows games, while Ohio State's Chance Gray highlights the heavy expectations athletes endure through direct messages. Additionally, they must balance rigorous academics, sports training, and performance, contributing further to their mental strain, prompting some to detach from social media for mental health reasons.
Oftentimes, after games, depending on how we do, I'll get DM messages talking about like, 'you didn't hit my parlay,' like random sports betting things, and that's obviously not what I'm focused on when I'm playing out there on the court-but I do think those things add up.
A lot of Instagram DMs just saying basically you didn't play up to par-and I think having that expectation on our shoulders does weigh on us after a while.
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