Kofi Cockburn Hit With Racist Comments After March Madness Loss, Sparking Investigation

Loyola Chicago secured a stunning upset victory over No. 1 seed Illinois on Sunday and moved to the Sweet 16. A social media user used the loss as an opportunity to post a hateful message on Illinois player Kofi Cockburn’s page. The person used a racist comment and prompted an investigation from the university.

The racist post, which can be seen here, referred to Cockburn as a “monkey” and told him to go back home. The Illinois player, who was born in Jamaica but moved to New York, captioned the photo on his social media post by writing, “I blame his parents.” An Illinois spokesman later told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that the school is investigating the situation. The school has spoken to Cockburn and said the source of the comment was identified by others on social media.

Illinois (24-7) had the top seed for the game, marking the first time since 2005 that the school had earned top seeding. However, the school fell behind by double digits in the first half and could not mount a comeback against Loyola’s defense. The Illini committed 16 turnovers during the game while Cockburn finished with 21 points.

The Illinois star is not the first to deal with the racist comments following a loss in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell posted several screenshots on Twitter that showed vulgar and threatening messages that he received after a loss to Oral Roberts. One of the two social media users threatened to find and physically attack him after the loss. Another said that they hoped Liddell dies.

“Honestly, what did I do to deserve this? I’m human,” Liddell tweeted. “Comments don’t get to me but I just wanna know why. I’ve never done anything to anyone in my life to be approached like this. This is not me saying anything negative about Ohio State fans. I love you all dearly and I’ve felt nothing but appreciated since the first day I stepped on campus.”

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann issued a statement on Saturday morning supporting Liddell, saying that the comments are vile and dangerous. Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith also responded to the incident by promising police involvement. He tweeted on Saturday that the attack on Liddell was “appalling” and that it will not be tolerated.

“To the few of you who have chosen to inappropriately rail against our players on social media, stop,” Smith tweeted. “Hate and derision have no place in Buckeye Nation or in civil society. If you cross the line and threaten our players, you will be hearing from the authorities. That I promise you.”