It's a sad state of affairs when a footballer can't share a photo of his daughter on her first day at school without having abuse hurled in his direction.
Raheem Sterling has had to put up with a lot in his short career, with abuse only intensifying since he left Liverpool for Manchester City last summer, and it is safe to say most of the vitriol directed at him has nothing to do with football.
Kick It Out were compelled to
issue a statement last season on some of the racism sent the way of the England international, while
some of the coverage in the press and on social media after Euro 2016 left a very nasty taste in the mouth.
It's not just online abuse, though, as one angry Liverpool fan reportedly
manhandled the winger after last season's League Cup final.
It is clear by now that nothing Sterling does on the pitch or off it will have any effect on some people - as evidenced by the responses to his latest Instagram post.
It's as innocuous as they come - even charming: Sterling's daughter Melody Rose started school this week and the England international shared a photo of her in her uniform with a beaming smile.
No one could attack him over that, right? If you thought that was the case then you clearly don't know football fans on the internet.
We don't feel the need to repeat some of the comments, and thankfully some of the worst have since been removed or deleted.
The snake emoji features prominently, in addition to some very unsavoury language. The only positive we can find is that plenty of commenters have been quick to condemn the abusive element.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ95bQDAwo9/?taken-by=sterling7&hl=en
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