Raven Johnson Calls Out Toxic Social Media Platform Targeting Women Athletes

The UCLA secured its first championship in the NCAA era and handed the South Carolina Gamecocks their third-highest point margin loss in the championship game. Although the opening statement highlights the dominance of Cori Close’s team, Raven Johnson, Tessa Johnson, and co. were in the game until the first half.

Nevertheless, it was a fighting effort from the South Carolina team, which will have one of its most decorated players moving to the WNBA. Johnson, one of the top picks in the most recent WNBA mock draft, could be the top selection from the program, where she will enter a higher league with many eyes judging her performances.

Ahead of her WNBA debut season, though, the player mentioned one rule she follows and advised other female athletes to follow the same.

Raven Johnson Slams Toxic Social Media Targeting Women Athletes

The South Carolina star is one of the most followed athletes in college basketball, and her impact on the game and her programs back it up. While the player shares updates and her feelings with fans via social media, she is not very active on the same and recently spoke about the ‘toxic’ nature of it.

“I don’t really be on social media. I don’t be on Twitter, because that is a toxic app. So I couldn’t tell you, honestly, but I’m going to say: for athletes, if you play sports, or women’s sports, stay off Twitter. Because those people are crazy on there,” Johnson said in a recent interview.

"I don’t really be on social media. I don’t be on Twitter, because that is a toxic app. So I couldn’t tell you, honestly, but I’m going to say: for athletes, if you play sports, or women’s sports, stay off Twitter. Because those people are crazy on there."

— Jonathan Tannenwald (@jtannenwald.bsky.social) 2026-04-04T19:34:14.633Z

---

Interestingly, her coach also highlighted a similar point earlier in the season. Dawn Staley openly spoke about the body-shaming challenges women have to combat in sports, and the social media platforms made it even more difficult for them to ignore.

Although there are negatives of social media that both South Carolina representatives spoke about, the 23-year-old found her motivation from one such viral social media post as she explained her ‘growth’.

Raven Johnson Recalls Trolls After Humiliation From Caitlin Clark

Talking about her journey towards becoming a prolific scorer and elite player, the Georgia-born star recalled a game and a moment that changed her perspective towards basketball. She mentioned that the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes and the infamous wave-off from Caitlin Clark attracted many trolls, but her teammates and close group lifted her up from the trauma.

“That’s one reason I hate the internet now. Because of that situation, like I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called all these things that I wasn’t. I wanted to quit basketball at that time. And I wanted to go into this bubble, like isolation and be by myself. I leaned on god, I had some wonderful teammates, wonderful people in my life, as I said,” Johnson mentioned the adversities she had to go through.

Talk about adding fuel to the fire…

In 2023 Raven Johnson went VIRAL for being waved off by Caitlin Clark at the 3 point line 🤯

Raven told us how that moment came full circle 😤‼️ pic.twitter.com/HFCMaNnOlp

— I AM ATHLETE (@IAMATHLETEpod) March 28, 2026

But in the end, the South Carolina team defeated CC’s Hawkeyes in the 2024 Final and Johnson played a key role in it, defending Clark. Dawn Staley also found motivation from Clark’s 2023 Final Four performance, as she recently said after defeating the UConn Huskies.