The Instagram page of St. John’s star RJ Luis Jr. has been scrubbed following the team’s second-round ouster to Arkansas in the NCAA tournament as online trolls have seemingly targeted the 6-foot-7 guard over Saturday’s poor showing.
Luis, the reigning Big East Player of the Year, authored a dreadful performance in the Round of 32, going 3-for-17 from the field and 0-for-3 in three-point attempts before head coach Rick Pitino benched him in the final minutes of the 75-66 loss.
The college junior’s Instagram page isn’t available as of Monday afternoon, with the platform indicating “the link may be broken or the profile may have been removed.”
Fans of Luis have since condemned those “attacking a young man over a bet,” including WFAN’s Brandon Tierney.
“To hear RJ Luis’ social media was flooded w/such hate/negativity is a sad state of where we are/who we’ve become. Attacking a young man over a bet? Wow,” Tierney wrote Monday morning on X.
“He is an absolute gem of a human. Everything you would want in a son + caring/engaged family. Some people are truly evil.”
Rumble In The Garden, a St. John’s fan account, also posted a screenshot of Luis’ since-deactivated Instagram page and called out the “disgusting” behavior exhibited by trolls.
“RJ Luis Jr. deleted his Instagram because of overwhelming harassment from degenerate gamblers and miserable freaks who didn’t watch a single second of college basketball up until this week. This s–t is disgusting,” the account posted early Monday.
The Instagram deactivation comes on the heels of the NCAA’s “Draw the Line” initiative, which has implored bettors not to harass athletes in the event of a loss.
Luis’ X page is still live as of Monday.
He received a slew of encouraging messages from users in response to recent posts on his timeline, including a re-share from the Godly Teachings page that read: “Follow God. Trust His plan. Praise God.”
“Heart and soul of the team, run it back. The bad days make the great ones sweeter,” one user penned.
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“Thanks for an amazing season RJ. You are not only a crazy talented player, but an amazing leader and role model. Hold your head high. You and your team made me fall in love with college basketball again. Go Johnnies!” another fan exclaimed.
Luis, who averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and two assists for the Johnnies this season, expressed remorse following Saturday’s dud.
“I let my teammates down,” he said. “Should have been more of a leader.”
The No. 2 seed in the West Region, St. John’s magical season unraveled Saturday in Providence at the hands of the No. 10 seed Razorbacks and longtime Pitino rival John Calipari.
Arkansas will next face No. 3 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16.
Calipari is in his first season with the Razorbacks after stepping down as Kentucky’s coach last April after 15 seasons.
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