Who knew the Houston Texans, who landed just one prime-time game for the 2021 season, somehow had the NFL’s most trolled player on their roster?
According to a survey from OLBG.com, quarterback Deshaun Watson is the most trolled NFL player on Twitter. Of all tweets about the three-time Pro Bowler, 41.5% are negative.
The reason is twofold: the trade request and the lawsuits. From January to March, Watson was the center of virtually every trade scenario as the former 2017 first-round pick wanted out of Houston at any cost. When the lawsuits from 22 women alleging sexual assault were filed in March, the off-field attention to Watson incorporated a new element.
OLBG.com surveyed 759 NFL fans who are active online and asked them questions pertaining to social media platforms they use to discuss the NFL, frequency of said discussions, and whether they would be brave enough to be as frank with the athletes in person as they are behind a screen. In fact, one in four of the participants admitted to using a fake account to troll NFL players.
A curious note about the Twitter hate is that, although the data supported Watson as the most trolled player, the player perceived to get the most hate was Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady. However, the trolling tweets received were less than 18.9% of all tweets, which is what Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett received; Garrett placed No. 19 on the list.
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones led the way in the positive tweet category with 56.1% received being positive. Watson did not qualify for the top 19.
The emojis most associated with Watson included the laughing-crying emoji, a variation where the same emoji is tilted, and also the pondering emoji.