I have never been a fan of following celebrities or athletes on Twitter, simply because I feel as if the only reason people do so is to: 1) Ask them for a RT because it’s their niece’s ex-boyfriend’s birthday, 2) Send them their phone number in a direct message, or 3) Wait for them to say something stupid or inflammatory.

Fortunately, I don’t fit into any of the categories of aforementioned people, but I do follow my fair share of Nevada athletes, just to get their thoughts on random topics and maybe see some craziness — and Saturday, I finally saw a glimpse of it.

After the Wolf Pack men’s basketball team lost in Friday’s second round of the Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament, Nevada hoopers tweeted messages saying they were disappointed, but still proud of their season. Senior forward Olek Czyz tweeted, “There is nothing worse than feeling that you (came) up short of your ultimate goal…,” which about summed up the Wolf Pack’s feelings.

But junior guard Malik Story had a different gripe. He tweeted, “The threats I got on my Twitter needs to stop for real I don’t play that.” Junior guard Keith Fuetsch tweeted, “La tech played out of their mind give them credit. But beyond ball, people who threaten players over a game need to get a life.”

Agreed.

I couldn’t believe people were tweeting players, telling them that they lost a bet because of Nevada’s loss. I’m unsure of what other messages Nevada’s ballers got, but even the aforementioned message was way over the line.

To be honest, It took a lot for me not to reply to the perpetrator in question and tell him to go jump on something sharp.

Critiquing athletes over poor choices on the court/field is one thing, but threatening them is utterly despicable.

Simply because athletes are placed in the public spotlight does not open them up to endure unjustified criticisms. It’s a barrier that’s crossed many times in sports and it’s one I hate the most.

The next time someone wants to throw personal attacks and threats at a public figure, do us a favor and don’t.