Latest news with #deaththreats
Washington Post
20 hours ago
- General
- Washington Post
What we can learn from the senator who nearly died for democracy
Zaakir Tameez is the author of 'Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation,' to be released on June 3. On May 13, a man who made death threats against Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) for her foreign policy views was sentenced to nearly four years in prison. Last month, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she was 'afraid' of using her voice to speak about political controversies. A month before that, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) released audio recordings of death threats he received while he was considering how to vote on Pete Hegseth's nomination as defense secretary.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter
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 . Boston Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks celebrates after the final out of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park, Friday, May 2, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) AP AUDIO: Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter AP correspondent Mike Hempen reports two major league pitchers dealing with online abuse are taking action. 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 reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and hired 24-hour security for them. It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened. 'You have to at that point,' he said. Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. reacts after Athletics' Jacob Wilson's home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren) 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.' Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich gestures after hitting a walk off grand slam during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash) 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. Kansas City Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez, right, celebrates his RBI single against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of baseball game Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn) '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:
Fox News
2 days ago
- Health
- Fox News
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after he and family receive death threats
Print Close By Ryan Morik Published May 30, 2025 After Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers received vitriol on social media, team owner Jim Grane gave him 24-hour security. McCullers said he and his family recently received death threats following a rough outing from the 31-year-old. McCullers said his five-year-old daughter overheard a conversation with his wife on the phone about the threats. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON "She asked me when I came home: 'Daddy, like, what is threats? Who wants to hurt us? Who wants to hurt me?' So, those conversations are tough to deal with," McCullers told the Associated Press this week. McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. The Astros contacted MLB security and the Houston Police Department following the threats to McCullers. A police spokesperson said Thursday that it remains an ongoing investigation. It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened. "You have to at that point," he said. 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. The team also 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. FORMER SETON HALL PITCHER DETAILS SEXUAL HAZING, BLOOD INJURIES AND SAYS COACH FAILED TO ACT 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." "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." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Boston Red Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks also said he received death threats earlier this month. "Threats against my life and my wife's life are horrible and cruel. You need help," Hendriks wrote on his Instagram story last week. "Leaving comments telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer is disgusting and vile." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter. Print Close URL
National Post
3 days ago
- General
- National Post
Baseball player, family get 24-hour security after death threats from gamblers
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. Article content What followed was a painful conversation between McCullers and his little girl. Article content '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.' Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content McCullers, who has two young daughters, took immediate action after the threats and reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and hired 24-hour security for them. Article content It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened. Article content 'You have to at that point,' he said. Article content 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. Article content Article content '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.' Article content '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.'
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter
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 reached out to the team to inquire about what could be done to protect his family. Astros owner Jim Crane stepped in and hired 24-hour security for them. It was a move McCullers felt was necessary after what happened. '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. ___
