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Reece MesserBritish Twitter Troll
Country:
 Great Britain |
Content:
- British Twitter Troll Arrested for Threatening Olympian Tom Daley
- Apology from Father
- Police Concerns
- Support for Daley
- Messer's Apology
British Twitter Troll Arrested for Threatening Olympian Tom Daley
British Twitter user Rhys Messer, a 17-year-old boy, was arrested and cautioned for online harassment after making threats against Olympic diver Tom Daley, 18. Messer has been released on bail, and his Twitter account is being examined.
The incident began after Great Britain finished fourth in the synchronized diving final. It is unclear why Messer chose to focus his anger on Daley, who was part of the British duo alongside Peter Waterfield.
In one tweet, Messer threatened to drown Daley, while another suggested that the diver's performance had disappointed his late father, Robert Daley, who died from a brain tumor in 2011.
Apology from Father
Messer's father, 58-year-old Norman Messer, apologized for his son's behavior, saying "My son desperately needs help." He explained that Rhys suffers from ADHD and has not been taking medication, which has contributed to his condition.
"I'm heartbroken by what's happened to him. He doesn't know what he's saying... He just doesn't think... We have had a long history with Rhys and it all started when he was eight. He was a normal boy up until then," Norman Messer said.
Norman Messer also revealed that he and Rhys's mother divorced when Rhys was just 12 months old, which may have had an impact on the boy.
"I would just like to say sorry to Tom Daley and wish him every success in the future," he added.
Police Concerns
The incident highlights the growing challenge that British police face in dealing with social media abuse. In the past year alone, police received 14,000 requests to look into offensive content on Twitter.
"Can we police the online world where someone is being unpleasant to someone else?" asked Police Federation Vice Chairman Simon Reed. "I don't think we've got the resources. We can't be on the internet all the time and we can't run to the police every time someone says something unpleasant."
Support for Daley
Following the attack on Daley, thousands of Twitter users rallied to support the diver. Daley has been advised to stay off Twitter and focus on his remaining Olympic events.
Fellow British diver Tonia Couch believes the Twitter controversy will soon be forgotten. "Tom is a strong character. He's able to focus on what he's got to do. And at the end of the day, Twitter is Twitter. You don't have to go on it if you don't want to," she said.
Messer's Apology
In the wake of the backlash against him, Messer tweeted: "Can people please leave me alone for a minute please? For goodness sake I said sorry... Everyone deserves a second chance right?"
