Study - Online abuse of athletes down during March Madness - ESPN

Social media abuse targeting student-athletes, including from sports bettors, decreased during March Madness, but tournament officials and coaches experienced a spike in harassment, according to study results released Tuesday by the NCAA.

Athletes were targeted in 15% of the abuse flagged by data science firm Signify Group during the men's and women's basketball tournaments this year, down from 42% last year. Sports betting-related abuse dropped by 23%, the study found.

The men's tournament featured the fewest outright upsets by betting underdogs (14) since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Social media abuse directed at participants in the women's tournament decreased 83%, but the men's side saw a 140% increase in harassment, much of it directed at the selection committee and coaches.

«There was a lot in there that was directed at the NCAA committee from the outset of March Madness, with some of the bubble teams and who got in and who got out; couple coaches' changes that happened throughout March Madness seemed to trigger a lot of abuse, as well,» Clint Hangebrauck, managing director of enterprise risk management for the NCAA, told ESPN.

North Carolina athletic director Bubba Cunningham, who chaired the men's selection committee, received online abuse and harassment after the Tar Heels became one of the last teams into the field. Local media reports said Cunningham received «angry, profane and threatening emails» from «hundreds» of fans of other schools.

«Obviously, we don't want abuse to be directed at anybody,» Hangebrauck said, «but from a mental health and resources standpoint, some of those mature adult-aged individuals can hopefully deal with those situations a little bit better.»

Signify Group used