Fantasy sports has turned into a lucrative industry and it’s no surprise fantasy football is perhaps the most popular. While its growth has been exponential in recent years among fans, fantasy football has been the cause of a few outbursts from players on social media.
On Saturday, Jeremy Maclin took to Twitter to let the world know he doesn’t care about our make believe teams.
It amazes me how "Fantasy Football" is the only football that some of you know. It's sad. News flash for … http://t.co/wy4iPccZg9
— Jeremy Maclin (@jmac___19) August 29, 2015
Maclin’s tweet found the eyes of Matthew Berry, one of ESPN’s more prominent fantasy analysts. Berry responded with a couple of tweets of his own, letting Maclin know he was disappointed and that he shouldn’t insult fans.
Nor should you care @ anyone's fantasy team, Jeremy. But you don't need to insult fans who drive ratings & revenue https://t.co/A5fqDx9u74
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) August 29, 2015
I remain a fan of @jmac___19 but I'm disappointed by his tweet. Fantasy players drive huge ratings, revenue & interest. (1/2)
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) August 29, 2015
(2/2). @jmac___19 is a very talented player & I'm excited to see him play this year for KC. But he is a multi millionaire in part b/c of FF
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) August 29, 2015
Maclin, then, elaborated his stance.
@MatthewBerryTMR you of all ppl should know what my tweet means…football is about what a team achieves. You … http://t.co/9za3VQ3Z9S
— Jeremy Maclin (@jmac___19) August 29, 2015
@MatthewBerryTMR how can one possibly be a die hard fan of a team but want a player on that team to do bad because he plays them in fantasy.
— Jeremy Maclin (@jmac___19) August 29, 2015
Berry finished things off by reiterated he did not agree with Maclin going at fans the way he did.
@jmac___19 No question your focus should be on helping KC win & nothing else. Merely saying no reason to insult non KC fans who root for u
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) August 29, 2015
Last year, Rashard Mendenhall cited fantasy football as one of the reasons he decided to hang up his cleats for good. We’ve also seen Torrey Smith and Ray Rice rip their fantasy owners in the past.
One good thing about Twitter is the access it gives to our favorite athletes. However, that access can also be a bad thing. With big money often at stake, many people are not afraid to let a player on their fantasy team know how they feel in the event of a poor game, which leads to frustration on the player’s part. This isn’t going to change anytime soon and will continue to be a source of frustration for guys like Jeremy Maclin. Now it’s easy to see why some avoid social media all together.
