Alexander Mattison Posts NFL Fans Racist DMs; Told to Kill Himself After Vikings Loss

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Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison was subjected to hate speech on social media after Thursday’s 34-28 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

On his Instagram Stories, Mattison posted multiple screenshots of messages he received with racist language calling him the N-word and telling him to kill himself.

Mattison is in his fifth season with the Vikings, but this is his first year as the full-time starter after Dalvin Cook was released during the offseason. He finished Thursday’s game with 39 total yards on 11 touches.

The 25-year-old was one of four Vikings players who lost a fumble against the Eagles. His fumble came late in the first quarter on a first-down play from Minnesota’s own 35-yard line.

In this social-media era we are all living in, athletes find themselves subjected to hateful messages often. It’s especially common for Black athletes to receive direct messages including racist language.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara exposed a high-schooler who called him the N-word in a message from October 2022. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel said he was subjected to racist messages and death threats last year when he was in a contract standoff with the team.

Miami Dolphins defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah publicly shared a racist message he received on Instagram after a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in October 2021.

Mattison said in his message he doesn’t mind if fans want to say “you suck” or things of that nature because he didn’t help their fantasy team, but more than 60 people “decided to come at me with disgustingly disrespectful language” after Thursday’s game and urged them to “really reflect” on what they say because “this is sick.”