Kevin Paredes, a rising star for the U.S. men’s national soccer team and his German club VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, sadly endured intense racial abuse and threats following a defeat to Morocco in the Olympic football tournament.
A user posted fake quotes attributed to the American winger stating, “I don’t know this Morocco you are talking about, all I know is that we are winning the match tomorrow.”, leading to a torrent of hateful messages. Overwhelmed by the abuse and threats against his family, Paredes publicly denied the fabricated statements and expressed his distress over the situation.
Despite the negative impact on his mental health, he received support and apologies from some fans, which has been a strong anchor for the 21-year-old.
Kevin Paredes on fake comments and online abuse
Kevin Paredes spoke to The Athletic, stating, “In this day and age, everyone believes everything on social media. It can really ruin someone’s mental health or just their mind in general.”
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He also described his emotional distress when the threats began targeting his family: “When it got to the point where it was about my family… I’m really emotional about my family. It was a lot to handle. I got death threats to my family, to my brothers. One brother started getting comments as well to his Instagram.”
The fake quotes, which falsely claimed Paredes was unaware of Morocco’s team, went viral. Reflecting on the situation, Paredes said, “This is not me or who I am as a person. Of course, I knew who their team was.”