Belleville West grad responds to social media threats on his life after Ohio State loss
Former Belleville West High School basketball star E.J. Liddell led Ohio State in scoring Friday during the team’s NCAA tournament loss but he still received social media posts threatening his life.
Liddell received the threats on social media after 15th-seeded Oral Roberts University upset 2nd-seeded Ohio State 75-72 in overtime.
“Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? I’m human,” Liddell posted on Twitter after receiving the messages that appeared to have been posted by two accounts.
ESPN reported that Ohio State has called the police to investigate the threats.
Liddell, a sophomore, had a team-high 23 points for the Buckeyes in the loss on Friday.
Liddell posted screenshots of the messages he received. Along with the threats on his life, the messages included racist and anti-gay slurs.
“Comments don’t get to me but I just wanna know why,” Liddell tweeted. “I’ve never done anything to anyone in my life to be approached like this.
“This is not me saying anything negative about Ohio State fans. I love you all dearly and I’ve felt nothing but appreciated since the first day I stepped on campus.”
Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann on Saturday called the messages “vile, dangerous and represent the worst of humanity.”
Liddell had “a tremendous sophomore season and he was instrumental in our team’s success,” Holtmann posted.
Liddell won back-to-back Illinois state championships with Belleville West before he graduated in 2019.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 1:16 PM.
