The Tennessee Titans are 0-3, and quarterback Cam Ward is technically 3-17 in his 20 starts as the former No. 1 overall pick. Things are bad. Ward was asked at his Wednesday press conference about his family receiving hateful messages from fans after his sister Chantel posted on social media following the Titans’ 12-7 loss to the New York Giants, a game where Ward threw his first interception in 208 pass attempts. It was a game-losing pick with 14 seconds left on the clock.

Chantel Ward’s message to fans

Chantel’s post pulled back the curtain on what life looks like for the family of an NFL quarterback on a struggling team.

“After games, people come directly into my DMs on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with threats, hate, bullying, personal attacks, and disrespect towards me and my family all over football. Criticize the game, criticize a play, be frustrated with your team. That’s sports, and I completely understand that. But seeking out a player’s sister, parents, or other family members to personally attack them, because you’re upset about what happened on a football field is something completely different.”

She continued.

“Cam is a quarterback to y’all. He’s entertainment on Sundays. To me, that’s my little brother, somebody I’ve loved, protected, supported, and watched work for this his entire life. So when people come onto my page or into my messages disrespecting him, me, or my family, and then tell me, “Don’t take it personal,” how exactly am I supposed to take it? And trust me, the screenshots I share are only a fraction of what comes through. There’s so much that happens outside of those football games that people never see.”

It’s ridiculous that family members have to go through this. I also know how often it happens across sports, whether it’s college or pro football, basketball, anything that reaches a massive entertainment level for the country. People take things way too far.

Cam Ward handles it well at the podium

Ward was asked a series of questions at his press conference about how he deals with outside noise and how he helps his family cope with what they receive.

On how he handles outside noise, Ward said he leans on the guys in the locker room and the people in his circle.

“I asked for this position, it’s one of the best positions in the world, so it comes with the job,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, we got to play better, we need to win more games. I think we do that, a lot of stuff take care of itself.”

When pressed further about his family receiving messages and how he helps them through it, Ward kept it measured.

“At the end of the day, people are weird. They can say whatever they want,” Ward said. “My family knows the position I’m in. They know what I wanted my whole life. They’re in this position as well with me.”

Ward acknowledged the adversity without letting it consume the conversation.

“That’s why I never get too low,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, you make plays on the football field, everything else handles itself.”

He also recognized the broader reality that the hate isn’t just about him. It hits people in his circle who didn’t sign up for a life in the public eye.

“It’s also an aspect of, not for myself but somebody else, like someone’s kid, or your brother, sister,” Ward said. “But it’s football at the end of the day. And I love it. So every adverse situation I have, I’m going to take on, every success I have in this job will take on. It’s really just making plays on the football field. If I do that, we do that as a team, it’s gonna cut all that out.”

Ward’s maturity, and the message underneath

Cam Ward handled that well. He didn’t go low, didn’t take a shot back, didn’t get nasty, didn’t defend things too aggressively. He kept it at “the football will take care of itself” and “I need to be better.” The broadest paraphrasing of Ward’s message is this: if he plays better and the Titans win, much of the noise will disappear.

He is probably right in a practical sense. Winning tends to quiet people. But Ward’s performance does not make him responsible for the hate messages directed at his family.

The Titans have a long way to go as they get ready to face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in Week 4.