10 Athletes Who Hate Internet Trolls

The Dilemma That Is Athletes On Social Media

In recent years, there is no doubting that social media has taken over the internet, if not the world. Nearly everyone around the globe is involved with at least one of the main social media outlets, which now include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Instagram. In fact, these sites have become so commonplace that it almost seems as if one would be a little weird not to be on one of these sites.

Well, as these types of sites continue to gain fame, they are inevitably endorsed and utilized by professional athletes to either connect with fans, promote themselves, or a mixture of the two. This can be done to great effect as it is always great to feel a bit of connection to those athletes that you either idolize from the seat of your couch or within a stadium.

The downside of athletes' use of social media is that it can turn into a place of constant bickering with fans for seemingly no reason. This has rang especially true on Twitter, where disgruntled fans have made it a habit of attacking everything in an athlete's life from their athletic performance to the attractiveness of their spouse.

Inevitably, this has resulted in some players taking these insults and veiled threats and firing equally offensive statements, in turn giving these attackers the minute of fame they were searching for. With this in mind, I have searched for the 10 athletes who most often shoot back at those who attack them on the web and formed a list of the the 10 Athletes Who Hate Internet Trolls.

Enjoy!

10. Jonathan Vilma

During his time on Twitter, New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has shown that he will simply not take anything from anyone who insults him, his team, or the Miami Hurricanes. Just in the last two months, this has resulted in Vilma calling hecklers such names as cowards and losers, amongst other things. Simply put, it can be assured that following Vilma on twitter @JonVilma51 will provide many entertaining moments as he takes on internet hecklers.

9. Dustin Penner

Anaheim Ducks forward Dustin Penner seems to pick out fights with internet users on a nearly daily basis. These fights have ranged anywhere from Penner blasting a user's attractiveness when they hit out at his ability, to telling a user he will let him out of the zoo after being taunted about his weight. And both of these encounters happened within the last five days. Penner may not be the best player in the NHL, but he is surely one of the most most likely to attack a fan on social media.

8. Hope Solo

United States Women's National Team goalkeeper Hope Solo does not hit out at internet users very often, but when she does, things tend to get ugly. In the past, Solo has taken serious offense when people try to attack previous actions of her spouse, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens. These rare outbursts make the wait worthwhile and make following Solo on Twitter @hopesolo a must.

7. Ryan Whitney

Florida Panthers defenseman Ryan Whitney seemingly finds it necessary to tweet about anything going on in his life, even if that thing is a person heckling him on Twitter. Whitney has specifically made a habit out of heckling users who say negative things about his beloved Boston Red Sox, making many people hope the team lose games in anticipation of excitement via their Twitter feed. Follow Whitney on twitter @ryanwhitney6.

6. Lee Westwood

After a poor performance at the 2013 PGA Championship, Lee Westwood took serious offense to some users who criticized his performance on the links, sparking a mini-war on Twitter. Westwood referred to hecklers as minions and trolls, and stated that he loved to tear apart these negative users. While outbursts like these come few and far between, there is no doubting that they are extremely entertaining and make following Westwood on Twitter @WestwoodLee a must for golf fans.

5. Ray Rice

Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has had an extremely poor season on the field, and there is no doubting that internet users have let him know it. In response to this, Rice hit out at fantasy users who criticized him on September 15 by saying,"I was a fan of fantasy football until today so many spiteful and hateful words I still love you all God Bless great win today #Ravens." Undoubtedly, this was not the classiest thing that Rice has ever done, but it did make following him on Twitter @RayRice27 a much more exciting time.

4. Johnny Manziel

Many people have given Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel a label as a very cocky individual, and if Twitter accounts mean anything, then this declaration would surely be right. Manziel has hit out at numerous fans on social media, but no comeback was more hilarious than when he tweeted a critic a picture of his Heisman Trophy with the caption,"You're that mad bro?" Following Manziel on Twitter @JManziel2 is always good for classic moments such as these.

3. Logan Morrison

Miami Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison uses Twitter more than any level-headed person should, but one can't argue with the entertainment value he brings. Morrison continually makes easy work out of his critics, as it appears that he responds to nearly every critic that tweets him out of pure joy. Following Morrison on twitter @LoMoMarlins to check out the continuous action.

2. Dwight Howard

Throughout his career, Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard has established a reputation as a nice guy, but this often does not translate to when he is being heckled via Twitter. Since signing with the Rockets over the summer, Howard has specifically taken distaste with those who continue to ask him about why he left Los Angeles, with him recently telling a user," it’s over with dude. Let it go. I made MY decision. It’s over." Heckling like this will surely continue through the season, and make following Howard on Twitter @DwightHoward a must in order to see his responses.

1. Paul Bissonnette

Nobody loves to take on internet trolls more than Phoenix Coyotes forward Paul Bissonnette. Bissonnette continuously takes on many of his 463,247 twitter followers by mocking their insults or simply shooting back statements about how he plays professional sports and they live in their mom's basement. These conversations with fans, and the good nature in which he takes insults makes him the most exciting athlete to follow on all of twitter @BizNasty2point0.