Michigan's punter is getting death threats after he blew Saturday's game

Blake O'Neill of the Michigan Wolverines
(Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

It's safe to say Michigan punter Blake O'Neill's weekend could have gone better. He fumbled with just seconds left in Saturday's contest versus rival Michigan State, and the Spartans recovered the ball to score the game-winning touchdown and thwart the upset that had seemed all but certain.

As if living with the game's crushing outcome wasn't enough, O'Neill has had to field online harassment from his team's fans since the botched play. The Twitter jabs, many of which have now been deleted, ranged from telling him to cut his hands off to mocking his Australian heritage to suggesting he take his own life, MLive.com reports.

On Sunday, Michigan athletic director Jim Hackett wrote an open letter to the Wolverine community in an attempt to put an end to the hostility.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"I'm asking that our community not lose this game twice by condoning thoughtless comments," he wrote.

In addition to Michigan staff, some fans put aside their disappointment and stuck by O'Neill. Julie Kliegman

See more
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.