Players perform their duty on the court to ball out. Some nights they lose, some nights they win. Criticizing their performance is one thing, but attacking their families is just vile. The latest celebrity to face that ugliness was Giannis Antetokounmpo’s wife, Mariah. The incident comes at a time when Alperen Sengun is already locked in a war of words with the Greek Freak, but that doesn’t give fans a pass to start spewing hate toward players’ loved ones.

“People in this world are so disappointing! All over a 🏀!” Mariah began with a long message where she also exposed the identity of a person who sent her a life-threatening DM. “I hope that those making hateful comments and sending disgusting messages to my family are proud of yourselves! But since you want to reach out to me privately I will be sure to let the world know publically who you are!”

The timing was no coincidence, with Greece and Turkey fans already trading barbs online after their fiery EuroBasket semifinal. In that matchup, Turkey came away victorious, and Mariah even made sure to congratulate them while reminding both fan bases about the dangers of toxic behavior. “And to all @tbf fans, congratulations on your 🥈 y’all have an amazing team!!!!! However to your fans, there’s no place for this type of behavior in sports. Actually there’s no place for this type of behavior PERIOD!!”

The mother of four’s message struck a nerve because the DM not only targeted her and Giannis, but also their children. It was a sobering reminder that while rivalries fuel the passion of international basketball, lines are being crossed when fans drag families into the mud.

“We will k— your entire family. You will be afraid everywhere you go.” Again, we are stating that there is no place in sport for such behavior. The athletes fight on the court and leave it behind. But certain netizens don’t draw such lines and continue to probe into personal lives and attack anybody close to the star. In this case, it was Giannis’ wife, Mariah.

Previously, even Russell Westbrook and his wife took a stand against such haters. Nina took to X to share her side of the story. “When I’m being harassed on a daily basis over basketball games, and I’m having obscenity’s and death wishes for me and my family…This is not a game to me. Basketball is a game. This is my life, my children’s lives, and my families life.” Hiding behind anonymity and sending a message from far away becomes easier due to the different social media channels. That’s why the majority of the celebrities don’t open their DMs.

Mariah, too, knew it, but ignoring would be easier. But she took away the power of anonymity and made sure to display the profile of the person who sent her a message against her family.

Giannis Antetokounmpo straightens the negative narrative against him by Alperen Sengun

Greece’s dream of winning the EuroBasket came to an unfortunate end, as Antetokounmpo and co. came up short in the semifinals. Turkey had a perfect plan to stifle the Greek Freak, which led to their convincing 94-68 win. Their star Sengun was dominant and responded with a 15-point double-double with six assists. On the other hand, Giannis could only contribute with a tournament low of just 12 points and five turnovers — tied for the most in the game.

After the game, Sengun was very confident about the team’s plan and proudly stated, “He’s not a great passer,” Sengun said, per EuroBasket. “He’s an amazing player, but he’s not a great passer. So, we’re just trying to help and jump, close the paint.” Naturally, the ever composed Giannis Antetokounmpo did not respond immediately. The 2x MVP made sure to express himself once the team played their final game and secured the bronze medal. “I’m a guy that don’t want to talk a lot,” said Giannis. “You know, I let my game talk. I’m going to my 13th season in the NBA. I won everything, everything.”

Further adding that he chose silence at the time, because sometimes there is no response needed. “It doesn’t really matter because at the end of the day, you won’t remember what they say. You will remember how I respond. So I keep everything to myself. You can go and check my…Go see my clips on YouTube and then come back and ask me if I’m a good passer or not.” Class act as always!