Chelsea's Reece James has deleted his Instagram account, reportedly a reaction to the stream of abuse he was receiving online.
The 21-year-old right-back had over a million followers on the platform. But at the end of January, James shared some of the disgusting racist insults he had been subjected to on Instagram, via his own Instagram stories - with the caption: "Something needs to change."
Unfortunately, the change seems to be that the England and Chelsea player has made the decision to leave Instagram.
Back on 30 January, James called on social media companies to do more to end the volume of racist abuse on their platforms via Twitter.
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"We all have a part to play in making this world a better and more equal place!" James tweeted.
"Racism is completely unacceptable! Human is our only race! Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, you must do more!!"
However while James still has his Twitter account, for now, his Instagram profile has disappeared.
Chelsea released a statement earlier this year asking for more action from social media companies.
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"Everyone at Chelsea FC is disgusted with the racist abuse Reece James received on social media on Friday evening," it read. "This club finds racism and all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable. We totally condemn it.
"In sport, as in wider society, we must create a social media environment where hateful and discriminatory actions are as unacceptable online as they would be on the street. We add our voice to those urging social media platforms and regulatory authorities to take stronger, more effective and more urgent action against this despicable behaviour. Something needs to change and it needs to change now."
The volume of hate directed at players - particularly racist abuse of black footballers - is an increasing concern. James is far from alone as Marcus Rashford, Wilfried Zaha, Ian Wright and numerous other players and former players have been subject to racism online.
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The question is whether it's the responsibility of social media companies to take greater responsibility and better police their own platforms - or whether it's about prosecuting those responsible with far more severity than is currently seen.
Something certainly needs to change. Because, as James says, no human being should be subjected to the online threats and vile abuse that are being endured by black footballers.
Featured image credit: PA Images
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Chelsea, Reece James, Premier League
