Thanks to the explosion of social media in recent years, professional athletes are no longer left alone to suffer in agony following disappointing losses. Now, people from all over the world are able to pile the hurt on, letting the unfortunate know how pathetic they are, all from the comfort of their mom’s basement.
Most athletes take one of two paths when dealing with their detractors. They either turn the other cheek, or they give it right back, entertaining the innocent bystanders who follow the conversations on Twitter or Facebook.
Boxer Curtis Woodhouse, however, chose another path. His choice was one in which no doubt was cheered by many athletes who have suffered the same misfortune he did, when he lost his English lightweight title this past weekend. He tracked down the guy behind the tweets.
Following a series of taunting tweets from a person called “The Master,” Curtis Woodhouse decided verbal jousting just wasn’t enough.
One of the offensive tweets from @jimmyob88 was aimed at the prestige of his lost title.
“Whats funny u put so much effort in, sacrificed all that time and failed to defend your Mickey Mouse title,” he said.
Woodhouse posted this photo to let the troll know he was close
However, he wasn’t so dismissive of Woodhouse when he discovered that the former soccer player had had enough. Woodhouse tracked down the troll’s address, driving to his street, believed to be in Yorkshire.
When Woodhouse arrived on his street, he tweeted back a photo of The Master’s street sign, saying, “Right Jimbob, I’m here! Someone tell me what number he lives at, or do I have to knock on every door.”
At that point, the fun of being an internet troll left when he realized that he may have to answer for his negative comments. Once the photo was posted, he offered apologies for what he had said, claiming things had just “got out of control.” and that he was just joking around.
Following the apology, Woodhouse left the scene, apparently never coming face to face with his tormentor. However, the conversation went viral, as the internet universe joined in on the action, mostly rooting for the troll to get what he had coming.
As it turns out, the entire situation may benefit Woodhouse, as all of a sudden he has become more famous than ever. Even Ricky Hatton messaged Woodhouse, as did several other famous athletes, showing their support.
While this is definitely not an approach advisable to most athletes that are in the public eye, there is no doubt that many of them were applauding his actions, having had to deal with negative fans themselves. This may not stop Curtis Woodhouse from ever being mocked on Twitter again, but you can be sure The Master won’t be the one doing it.
