Australian football player Brock McLean says the abuse players receive on Twitter is a form a cyber bullying that in extreme cases could lead to someone developing depression or quitting the game. McLean, who has been embroiled in a Twitter storm after engaging with an abusive fan last week, says he had been told to hang himself by one user following the controversy that led him to him being fined $5000.
“My idea behind retweeting some nasty stuff that people tweet me is to let the supporters see some of the abuse that players do cop,” said McLean. “Lucky I’m pretty thick-skinned and I take it with a grain of salt, but we talk so much these days about cyber bullying and it is a form of cyber bullying. I’d hate to see a couple of young players come through, who are on Twitter to try and engage with the fans to try and do the right thing, who might not be as thick-skinned and might take things [like that] a bit more to heart.”
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http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/brock-mclean-takes-one-week-break-from-twitter/story-fnelctok-1226416159416