Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther (right) and Ohio State University President Ravi V. Bellamkonda (left) are interviewed by various media outlets during the announcement that the Moritz College of Law will be moving to the downtown Huntington Bank Building. Credit: Michael Goulet | Campus Photo Editor.
Ohio State University President Ravi V. Bellamkonda and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther spoke out at a university event Monday against online threats directed toward members of the Ohio State football program following the Buckeyes’ 24-23 loss to Texas on Saturday.
Ohio State led 23-3 at the start of the fourth quarter before giving up 21 straight points to Texas. Since, threats posted on social media named members of Ohio State’s football team and staff.
On Yik Yak, an anonymous social media app, as of Tuesday, one commenter said, ‘Yo the next kicker [for Ohio State] to miss a field goal getting lynched on my mother bro.’ The comment had nearly 200 upvotes.
Another, with over 80 upvotes read, ‘I want Ryan Day[’]s head on my desk TOMORROW.’??
Bellamkonda, who was speaking at the historic Huntington building to announce the relocation of the Moritz College of Law to downtown Columbus,? pushed back on those comments.?
“Threats are just not acceptable against anyone,” Bellamkonda said.?
Ginther agreed, emphasizing that the team deserves to feel encouragement from its fan base.?
“These young people deserve our support,” Ginther said. “They deserve to be protected to make sure they are able to do what they are doing in a safe way, [including] our coaches [and] their families.
Ginther said the Columbus community needs to uphold its values of supporting one another.
“This is an incredible community, but the reason it is such a special place is because we value each other, we respect each other and we love each other,” Ginther said.?
According to Ginther, more threats could lead to an investigation by Ohio State’s police in conjunction with the Columbus Police Department.
Bellamkonda emphasized that threats against the team of any kind are inexcusable.?
“It’s just unacceptable for anyone to issue threats and things like that against our players or coaches,” Bellamkonda said. “To me, that’s not the Ohio way.”
