The Mississippi State women’s basketball player who was involved in the play that ended with Southern Cal superstar guard JuJu Watkins getting injured has been the subject of hateful comments on social media.
The Bulldogs lost Monday to the Trojans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the bigger story was Watkins’ injury. Mississippi State’s Chandler Prater was guarding Watkins as the national player of the year candidate was driving to the basket and made contact with her. Watkins’ right knee buckled and she fell to the court in pain. She was carried off the court and it was later revealed she would need surgery and miss the rest of the season.
Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell said after the 96-59 loss that he was praying for Watkins, adding she was ‘special’ and means a lot for women’s basketball.
‘We’re a program of class and my prayers and thoughts are with JuJu,’ Purcell said. ‘We don’t play to hurt, we play to compete. There was no harm. I pray as a society we understand that we don’t take this further than it needs to.’
But Purcell’s comments didn’t stop the online hate for Prater, who played for Oklahoma State and Kansas before spending her final season with Mississippi State.
Prater’s most recent social posts have had the comments turned off, but comments have been posted on her older posts, some calling her a dirty player.
‘Learn how to play the sport without fouling and injuring players,’ one comment said.
‘To reiterate what Coach (Sam) Purcell said following (Monday) night’s game, it was an unfortunate situation during a basketball play and our thoughts are with JuJu Watkins as she recovers,’ a Mississippi State athletics department spokesperson said in a statement given to the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. ‘We recognize that emotions run high in competitive sports, but there is no excuse for personal attacks or harassment online toward the young women in our program. Mississippi State will continue to support all of our student-athletes, both on and off the court.’
