If there’s one thing to learn from the 2012 London Olympics it’s this: Twitter and the Olympics don’t mix. Two Olympians have been banned from the London Games over racist tweets (Greek triple-jumper Voula Papachristou and Swiss soccer player Michel Morganella ) and now a teenage fan has been arrested for sending threats to British Diver Tom Daley over the social network.
USA Today reports that a 17-year-old in Weymouth, England, was arrested early this morning and charged with suspicion of malicious communications.
Daley, who was one of the youngest competitors at the 2008 Olympics, was a favorite, along with his partner Pete Waterfield, to win the 10-meter synchronized platform competition in London. Daley was out of sync, however, on the duo’s fourth round dive and took Team GB out of medal contention.
After his loss, Daley received several hateful and threatening messages. One user talked about using a gun while others called Daley disgraceful and over-hyped.
USA Today notes that most of the hateful criticism came from Twitter user @rileyy_69, who told Daley that he let his dad down. (Daley’s father died of brain cancer last year. The 18-year-old diver said before the Olympics that he was hoping to win a medal for his father.)
Daley said:
“I’m doing it for myself and my dad. It was both our dreams from a very young age. I always wanted to do it and Dad was so supportive of everything. It would make it extra special to do it for him.”
After reading @rileyy_69’s comments, Daley wrote on Twitter:
After giving it my all…you get idiot’s sending me this…RT @ rileyy_69 : @ tomdaley1994 you let your dad down i hope you know that
— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) July 30, 2012
What do you think of @Riley_69’s comments? Do you think it warranted legal action?
Daley was obviously disappointed with his performance in the synchronized event and apologized to his fans on Twitter.
Daley wrote:
# gutted so sorry everyone but we tried our best and you can’t afford to miss a dive at this standard…bring on individual!
— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) July 30, 2012
The 18-year-old diver could still leave London with a medal. He’ll be competing in the individual diving competition later this week.
Thank you everyone for all your support before, during and after the synchro, the atmosphere was incredible! Now focussing on the individual
— Tom Daley (@TomDaley1994) July 30, 2012
