Tasmania JackJumpers players and their families have been brutally attacked online amid the club’s misfiring NBL season, says coach Scott Roth, who wants the league to take more action. The reigning champions got off the bottom of the table with an upset 83-64 victory over the ladder-leading New Zealand Breakers on Saturday night in Hobart. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: NBL coach calls out abhorrent online trolls.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today In an emotional post-game press conference, Roth revealed weeks-long social media trolling of players and their loved ones had reached an ugly head in the 24 hours before the game. “We have a lot of distraught players and family members, wives and spouses and children,” he said. “We have been attacked brutally through social media to the point where it’s ugly, the threats.
“We have a player whose wife is pregnant and they (people online) wished for a miscarriage. “These attacks have been going on for weeks and it came to a head yesterday. “We deserve better.
We’ve worked very hard here for three years. And it’s not just gamblers (who are sending the messages).” JackJumpers CEO Christine Finnegan said players had informed Basketball Australia’s integrity unit about the harassment.
“(The unit has) advised that they were giving this their highest priority to look into this matter,” she said in a statement. “The club has offered its unconditional support to all members of our club who feel violated .