Lifting a world championship belt is often the pinnacle of a fighter’s career.
They picture the riches, the fame, the enhanced reputation that comes with the territory of being the best in the world at that weight.
What they don’t envision is the level of abuse that often accompanies the higher profile.
It’s wrong and, in 2016, it’s only getting worse as trolls hide behind anonymous social media accounts and level inappropriate comments in the direction of the most talented athletes on the planet.
And, unfortunately, Tyron Woodley has experienced just that since becoming UFC welterweight champion in July and, shockingly, it’s primarily been racist abuse that he’s had to deal with.
On his podcast Morning Wood with Deez Nuts, Woodley explained the horrific insults that have been sent his way.
“I’ve had people call me nigger, and monkey, and all this racist stuff,” he said. “I delete these people, then they’ll create another page and just go back out. People are willing to take so many hours of their day to be so negative.
“Some people, I look at their page and all they do all day is go against African American athletes and try to racially slur them. That I just think is somebody being ridiculous.”
The modern phenomenon of anonymous trolling is nothing short of disgusting and cowardly, and can often come across as absurd when non-athletic keyboard warriors who have never thrown a punch in their lives accuse genuine fighters of being afraid.
“I can tell you from experience, as being the champion, the last three weeks of my life have been completely the opposite of what you’d think it’d be,” Woodley continued. “I’ve had so many people say, ‘you pussy, you’re scared of this person,’ and I’m like, ‘I just fought an hour ago. I just got the belt.’ I’ve had people say ‘you should be stripped of the belt’ and actually it’s a month today that I won the belt.”
Perhaps former UFC fighter Josh Neer had the right idea when it came to shutting up online trolls.
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