By Madison Stahl 

On Sunday, Jan. 21, the Buffalo Bills experienced a season-ending loss against the Kansas City Chiefs. In this Divisional Round game, the teams vied for a spot in the AFC Championship Game.

In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the Chiefs leading 27-24, Bills kicker Tyler Bass attempted a 44-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game. The kick pushed wide right and missed, something that happened years before to the Bills’ former kicker Scott Norwood during the 1991 Super Bowl.  

Played at the Bills’ Highmark Stadium, home team fans weren’t happy with the outcome. Some fans allowed this disappointment to turn into hostility. According to FOX Sports, some Bills fans hurled snowballs at Chiefs players at the end of the game, which led some Chiefs players to fire back on social media. However, some supposed Bills fans also reportedly sent death threats to Bass over social media. Bass deactivated his Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, accounts soon after the game.  

Football fans on X predicted the arrival of death threats minutes after Bass’s failed kick, signaling that this isn’t a one-time phenomenon. Fortunately, the majority of fans have condemned those reportedly sending death threats. “If you were one of the people who felt the need to send a death threat to Tyler Bass, please feel free to unfollow me, block me, I don’t care. Always my team!!!” one X user wrote.  

The Bills Mafia, as fans affectionately call themselves, came together to support Ten Lives Club, a nonprofit for which Bass is a brand ambassador. As of Feb. 1, the New York-based cat adoption group had received hundreds of thousands in donations primarily from fans giving $22 in Bass’s name. Many fans outside the Bills Mafia have also supported the nonprofit or donated to other causes in Buffalo, New York.  

However, some X users are still targeting Bass, not in direct support of the death threats but attempting to justify why people may be sending them. “Tyler Bass is so soft, you’re a professional athlete you can take some criticism,” one X user wrote. Another user wrote: “tyler bass be a man.” 

Social media enables sports fans to connect with their favorite players, but it also masks those who want to express negativity. In a 2021 study involving professional footballers, NBA, and WNBA players with large social followings, researchers found hundreds of targeted negative comments, including racism and threatening or violent language. 

In 2021, the American College of Sports Medicine reported that approximately 35% of elite athletes, including professionals, suffer from at least one mental health concern, such as disordered eating, burnout, depression, or anxiety.  

The NFL offers opportunities for its current and former players to get help for their mental health concerns. According to their website, the league commits “to helping build a positive culture around mental health by providing players and the NFL family with comprehensive mental health and wellness resources and equipping them with the tools to succeed, on and off the field, over the course of their lives.” 

Players can access family health benefit plans that provide extensive coverage for mental health needs. The league also organizes NFL Total Wellness and the NFL Player Care Foundation, which advocate for mental health by providing licensed clinical staff and team mental health training. Players, staff and their families also have 24-hour access to the NFL Life Line, which allows them to connect confidentially with a trained counselor over call or online chat. This service operates similarly to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 988.  

Despite this unfavorable end to the season, Bills’ coach Sean McDermott remains confident in Bass and his team. Bills’ quarterback, Josh Allen, also stands by Bass. In his post-game press conference, Allen said, “You win as a team, you lose as a team. One play doesn’t define a game. It doesn’t define a season.” 

Allen stated that losing is the second worst part of the game – injuries ranked first.  

“It’s surreal,” Allen said. “On the bright side, we woke up this morning, right? We’re all here.”