Illini's Kofi Cockburn Exposes Racist Social Media Comment He Received After NCAA Tournament Loss

INDIANAPOLIS (CBS/AP) -- Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn is the second college basketball player to face racist comments on social media following a loss in the NCAA Tournament.

Cockburn shared on Instagram a racist social media post directed at him after the top-seeded Illini lost to No. 8 Loyola Chicago on Sunday.

Cockburn, who was born in Jamaica but later moved to New York, posted a screenshot of the post to his Instagram story.

The post called Cockburn a "bum" and also used racist language. Cockburn responded by writing: "I blame his parents."

Cockburn's post came a day after Ohio State's E.J. Liddell received threatening and insulting social media messages following the second-seeded Buckeyes' loss to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts. He posted images of the messages, including one that said "I hope you die I really do." Other messages included racist insults.

"Honestly, what did I do to deserve this?" Liddell posted on Twitter. "I'm human."

Ohio State has contacted police about the language directed at Liddell.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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