DENVER (AP) — Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said Friday that he has addressed online hate and harassment with his team after reserve guard Jace Carter revealed he’d been subjected to death threats and racial slurs on social media.
Following the Aggies’ 80-71 win over Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Carter told KBTX-TV of Bryan, Texas, about being targeted.
“Been getting death threats, people calling me racial slurs, all types of stuff because I’m missing free throws, missing shots,” Carter said. “If you’re a little kid and not mentally strong, it can mess you up. But I feel like I try to approach it like a grown man.
“I’m just happy I could help us win,” added Carter, who scored 10 points in 9 minutes against Yale. “It’s hard, especially when it’s coming from your own fan base. … It does get challenging at times, but at the end of the day, I’m comfortable with who I am as a man, who I am as a basketball player.”Carter, a senior guard, played two seasons at Illinois-Chicago before transferring to College Station for his junior season. He’s averaging 3.9 points and 17 minutes this season.
Asked at his Friday news conference about Carter’s resiliency in handling the vitriol, Williams said he wasn’t aware that Carter had revealed the harassment publicly but added it’s something he’s addressed with the player, his parents and his teammates.
“Yeah, it’s been a topic that has been more prevalent than ever in my career. I didn’t know he said it. But I have spent more time with our players on their reaction of others than I ever have,” Williams said. “I think that’s probably what comes with this now, the opinion of others seems to influence so much of decision-making.
“I want to make sure that what I do behind closed doors matters for their life. I want to make sure what I do publicly is also appropriate, but not turn into an emotional diatribe,” Williams added. “I’ve tried to handle that right with Jace’s dad, Jace’s mom. Just so that you don’t think that it’s Jace, that conversation has happened with multiple players within our organization multiple times.”
Williams said he quit social media because of online nastiness.
“It’s just dangerous. I think when you’re 22 and you’ve grown up with a screen, you can’t tell ’em, ‘Don’t look.’ But you have to try to find ways to educate them on how to handle it,” Williams said.
“I think the thing that bothers our group, and all groups, is when it’s coming from what they think are on the inside, I think that’s where their heart posture changes, like, I thought they were cheering for us.”
The fourth-seeded Aggies (23-10) face No. 5 seed Michigan (26-9) on Saturday in the second round of the South Region.
