It is no secret that fans get upset when an athlete on their team does something wrong.

It is also no secret that angry fans are able to use Twitter and Facebook to get their opinions out. Sadly, Kyle Williams, the 49ers receiver, who fumbled in overtime allowing the New York Giants to win the NFC championship, is getting death threats. People are even going as far as threatening his wife and children, “I hope you, your wife, kids and family die, you deserve it.” Williams doesn’t have a wife or kids.

Williams is not the first athlete to get death threats, and he will definitely not be the last. Sterling Marlin and the seat belt maker Bill Simpson have gotten death threats because of Dale Earnhardt’s death.

No longer are these people just haters, they are potential felons.

Technology and social networking sites make it easier for fans to show their approval and disapproval of an athlete’s performance. College athletes seem to get it worse from fans of opposing teams. People are able to access to a college athlete’s email address and post it on their team’s forum so people can send anonymous hate mail. Fans can also physically be on campus to harass the athlete.

Louisiana State University fans were able to get the cell phone number of Tim Tebow, quarterback for the Florida Gators at the time. According to ESPN, Tebow said, “Many of the messages contained physical threats.”

LSU fans have done worse. Female reporters from LSU’s campus newspaper wore Alabama gear and went to where LSU fans were tailgating. According to ESPN, the reporters said, “We were groped and squeezed by just about every guy we interviewed,” they reported. “The women called us ‘bitches’ and the men called us ‘cunts.’ The amount of times we were spit on also struck a nerve.”

The University of Oregon’s fans are known to be ruthless. In 2008, Kevin Love returned to Oregon on UCLA’s basketball roster. Ducks fans found Love’s cell phone number and distributed it amongst the students. According to Sports Illustrated, one voicemail said, “If you guys win, we’ll come to your house and kill your family.” Another said, “We’ll find your hotel room and blow your fucking head off with a shot gun.” Ducks fans went on to throw food at Love’s friends and family and call his grandmother a whore until she cried. It was so bad that Stan Love, a former Duck, said he would never return to his alma mater.

College officials need to step in when incidents like the ones mentioned above happen. College officials need to enforce rules and punishment for this kind of behavior. This is not an infringement of a fans first amendment right. It is morally unacceptable for “adults” to be doing this.

Abuse and taunting from fans are nothing new in collegiate sports, but are violence and death threats becoming part of the collegiate sports culture?

Sure seems like it.

We expect our players to lose with grace and so should we as fans.

Violence has no place in spectatorship. Calm down, be adults and show some class.