CSU player, family get death threats after hit

The Colorado State College Police Division and native authorities have appeared into threats — together with dying threats — towards Colorado State defensive again Henry Blackburn and his household, athletic director Joe Parker instructed ESPN on Monday.

Blackburn, a senior from Boulder, delivered an unlawful hit on Colorado receiver/nook Travis Hunter within the first half of Saturday’s sport that left the two-way star with an undisclosed harm.

The threats towards Blackburn and his household started earlier than Colorado’s double-overtime victory ended, as cellphone numbers for Blackburn and for his mom have been printed on the web. Blackburn’s campus handle and his household’s dwelling handle additionally received printed, Parker instructed ESPN.

Parker mentioned college and native police have labored in live performance to research the threats towards Blackburn and his household after they have been inundated with threatening cellphone calls and textual content messages and have been targets of threatening social media posts.

“We’re very involved about our participant’s security, as Henry and his household have continued to obtain these threats,” Parker instructed ESPN. “Henry by no means meant to place anybody in hurt’s method on the soccer subject. It isn’t what we educate or coach. We hope that the irrational vitriol directed at Henry stops instantly.”

Blackburn’s late hit on Hunter went viral on social media Saturday evening and have become a significant speaking level. Hunter, one of many breakout stars of the 2023 season, briefly returned to the sport after the hit.

He then received evaluated at an area hospital, and coach Deion Sanders mentioned after the sport that Hunter can be out for multiple weeks.

Colorado performs at No. 10 Oregon on Saturday, then hosts No. 5 USC on Sept. 30.

“It is simply unhappy,” Colorado State coach Jay Norvell mentioned Monday of the threats at his weekly information convention. “It is unhappy that that is the state of the world we stay in. It is a soccer sport. Let’s not make it greater than that. We do not need anyone to get harm. We do not coach that form of soccer.”

Norvell mentioned he reviewed Blackburn’s hit on Hunter and described it as a “bang-bang play.”

“I reviewed the play,” Norvell mentioned Monday. “It is a play that occurs generally. That is definitely not one thing that we educate or coach. It occurs in soccer generally.”

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