Latest news with #AvaMcCullers
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Astros' Lance McCullers Jr. reveals heartbreaking conversation with five-year-old daughter after death threats
Houston Astros star Lance McCullers Jr. has made a major move to protect his family after vile death threats were aimed at his kids. It emerged earlier this month that the pitcher and his family were targeted with the horrific abuse following a rough stint on the mound for the MLB player. McCullers, 31, and wife Kara have two young daughters together. McCullers reached out to the Astros front office over the threats and after the news reached the ears of team owner Jim Crane, he offered the right-hander 24-hour security. 'You have to at that point,' McCullers said, via the Associated Press this week. McCullers also revealed that the abuse forced him into a tough conversation with his five-year-old daughter, Ava. 'She asked me when I came home: "Daddy, like, what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?"' McCullers said earlier this week. 'So those conversations are tough to deal with.' The threats came after the Astros right-hander, a two-time World Series winner, allowed seven runs from a 10-run first inning against the Cincinnati Reds on May 10 - his second game in nearly three years due to injuries. 'I understand people are very passionate and people love the Astros and love sports, but threatening to find my kids and murder them is a little bit tough to deal with,' McCullers said at the time. 'So just as a father, I think there have been many, many threats over the years aimed at me, mostly, and I think actually one or two people from other issues around baseball actually had to go to jail for things like that. 'But I think bringing kids into the equation, threatening to find them or next time they see us in public they're going to stab my kids to death, things like that, it's tough to hear as a dad.' Joe Espada, the Astros manager, added: 'There are people who are threatening his life and the life of his kids because of his performance. 'It is very unfortunate that we have to deal with this. After all he's done for this city, for his team, the fact that we have to talk about that in my office... I got kids too, and it really drives me nuts that we have to deal with this. Very sad. Very, very sad.' McCullers was making just his second start for the Astros since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series. A series of right arm issues have derailed his career since that night and his return to the team this year was seen as huge success story. 'He hasn't pitched in 2 1/2 years. We've got to give some time, all right?' Espada said. 'This can't happen. I'm really upset that this happened to athletes, and ... you know, we're trying our best. Everybody's trying our best. But the fact I've gotta go to my office and deal with this? Come on. We're better than that.' McCullers has spent his career with the Astros and was part of World Series championship teams in 2017 and 2022. He missed all of the 2023 and 2024 seasons because of arm issues and made his return at the end of April.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
MLB players' families grapple with rising online threats as sports betting surges
HOUSTON (AP) — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. 'She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'' McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'So, those conversations are tough to deal with.' McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife's life and directing 'vile' comments at him . The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and hired 24-hour security for his family. 'You have to at that point,' he said. Abuse increasing with rise in sports gambling Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is 'a nightly thing' for most players. 'I think over the last few years it's definitely increased,' he said. 'It's increased to the point that you're just: 'All right, here we go.' It doesn't even really register on your radar anymore. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. You're just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It's not just me. It's everybody in here, based on performance.' And many players believe it's directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting. 'You get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone's bet or something ridiculous like that,' veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. 'I guess they should make better bets.' Hendriks has had enough Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments. He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it. 'Enough is enough,' he said. 'Like at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn't accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it's one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction.' What teams are doing Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they've taken steps in recent years to make sure player' families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road. Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: 'both the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts.' The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family. Abandoning social media For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they've abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets. 'I deleted it,' he said of Instagram. 'I'm off it. It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear.' Criticism is part of the game, threats are not The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that's happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there's a 'moral line' that fans shouldn't cross. 'People should want us to succeed,' he said. 'We want to succeed, but it shouldn't come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they're not safe where they live or where they sit at games.' Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters. Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with. 'We are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves,' Espada said this week. 'But when we are trying to do our best and things don't go our way while we're trying to give you everything we got and now you're threatening our families and kids — now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it.' Kansas City's Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn't experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans. 'Now some fans, real fans, they're gonna pay for that, too,' he said. 'Because if I was him, I wouldn't take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day.' McCullers wouldn't go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset. 'It does make you kind of shell up a little bit,' he said. 'It does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that's just probably the human reaction to it.' Finding a solution While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it. 'I'm thankful I'm not in a position where I have to find a solution to this,' Tigers' pitcher Tyler Holton said. 'But as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn't a topic of conversation.' White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it's mostly online, he added that he's had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games. 'Outside of just simply not having social media I really don't see that getting better before it just continues to get worse,' he said. 'I mean, I think it's kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it's behind a keyboard and there's really no repercussions, right?' ___ AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick and AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen, Kyle Hightower, Larry Lage and Steve Megargee contributed to this report. ___ AP MLB:
CTV News
3 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
MLB pitcher hires security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter
Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. reacts after a throw during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers, Friday, May 16, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) HOUSTON — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. 'She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'' McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'So, those conversations are tough to deal with.' McCullers is one of two MLB pitchers whose families have received online death threats this month as internet abuse of players and their families is on the rise. Boston reliever Liam Hendriks took to social media soon after the incident with McCullers to call out people who were threatening his wife's life and directing 'vile' comments at him. The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. An police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and hired 24-hour security for his family. 'You have to at that point,' he said. Abuse increasing with rise in sports gambling Players from around the league agree that online abuse has gotten progressively worse in recent years. Milwaukee's Christian Yelich, a 13-year MLB veteran and the 2018 NL MVP, said receiving online abuse is 'a nightly thing' for most players. 'I think over the last few years it's definitely increased,' he said. 'It's increased to the point that you're just: 'All right, here we go.' It doesn't even really register on your radar anymore. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. You're just so used to that on a day-to-day, night-to-night basis. It's not just me. It's everybody in here, based on performance.' And many players believe it's directly linked to the rise in legalized sports betting. 'You get a lot of DMs or stuff like that about you ruining someone's bet or something ridiculous like that,' veteran Red Sox reliever Justin Wilson said. 'I guess they should make better bets.' Hendriks has had enough Hendriks, a 36-year-old reliever who previously battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said on Instagram that he and his wife received death threats after a loss to the Mets. He added that people left comments saying that they wished he would have died from cancer among other abusive comments. He later discussed the issue and his decision to speak out about it. 'Enough is enough,' he said. 'Like at some point, everyone just like sucking up and dealing with it isn't accomplishing anything. And we pass along to security. We pass along to whoever we need to, but nothing ends up happening. And it happens again the next night. And so, at some point, someone has to make a stand. And it's one of those things where the more eyes we get on it, the more voices we get talking about it. Hopefully it can push it in the right direction.' What teams are doing Both the Astros and the Red Sox are working with MLB security to take action against social media users who direct threats toward players and their families. Red Sox spokesperson Abby Murphy added that they've taken steps in recent years to make sure player' families are safe during games. That includes security staff and Boston police stationed in the family section at home and dedicated security in the traveling party to monitor the family section on the road. Murphy said identifying those who make anonymous threats online is difficult, but: 'both the Red Sox and MLB have cyber programs and analysts dedicated to identifying and removing these accounts.' The Astros have uniformed police officers stationed in the family section, a practice that was implemented well before the threats to McCullers and his family. Abandoning social media For some players, online abuse has gotten so bad that they've abandoned social media. Detroit All-Star outfielder Riley Greene is one of them, saying he got off because he received so many messages from people blaming him for failed bets. 'I deleted it,' he said of Instagram. 'I'm off it. It sucks, but it's the world we live in, and we can't do anything about it. People would DM me and say nasty things, tell me how bad of a player I am, and say nasty stuff that we don't want to hear.' Criticism is part of the game, threats are not The 31-year-old McCullers, who returned this year after missing two full seasons with injuries, said dealing with this has been the worst thing that's happened in his career. He understands the passion of fans and knows that being criticized for a poor performance is part of the game. But he believes there's a 'moral line' that fans shouldn't cross. 'People should want us to succeed,' he said. 'We want to succeed, but it shouldn't come at a cost to our families, the kids in our life, having to feel like they're not safe where they live or where they sit at games.' Houston manager Joe Espada was livid when he learned about the threats to McCullers and his family and was visibly upset when he addressed what happened with reporters. Espada added that the team has mental health professionals available to the players to talk about the toll such abuse takes on them and any other issues they may be dealing with. 'We are aware that when we step on the field, fans expect and we expect the best out of ourselves,' Espada said this week. 'But when we are trying to do our best and things don't go our way while we're trying to give you everything we got and now you're threatening our families and kids — now I do have a big issue with that, right? I just did not like it.' Kansas City's Salvador Perez, a 14-year MLB veteran, hasn't experienced online abuse but was appalled by what happened to McCullers. If something like that happened to him he said it would change the way he interacts with fans. 'Now some fans, real fans, they're gonna pay for that, too,' he said. 'Because if I was him, I wouldn't take a picture or sign anything for noboby because of that one day.' McCullers wouldn't go that far but admitted it has changed his mindset. 'It does make you kind of shell up a little bit,' he said. 'It does make you kind of not want to go places. I guess that's just probably the human reaction to it.' Finding a solution While most players have dealt with some level of online abuse in their careers, no one has a good idea of how to stop it. 'I'm thankful I'm not in a position where I have to find a solution to this,' Tigers' pitcher Tyler Holton said. 'But as a person who is involved in this, I wish this wasn't a topic of conversation.' White Sox outfielder Mike Tauchman is disheartened at how bad player abuse has gotten. While it's mostly online, he added that he's had teammates that have had racist and homophobic things yelled at them during games. 'Outside of just simply not having social media I really don't see that getting better before it just continues to get worse,' he said. 'I mean, I think it's kind of the way things are now. Like, people just feel like they have the right to say whatever they want to whoever they want and it's behind a keyboard and there's really no repercussions, right?' ___ Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick and AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen, Kyle Hightower, Larry Lage and Steve Megargee contributed to this report.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
Lance McCullers Jr. hires security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter
HOUSTON — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.'s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros' pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it. What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. 'She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy like what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?'' McCullers told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'So, those conversations are tough to deal with.'
