Social media is often a blessing and curse for celebrity athletes.

The positive is they have a direct link to the fans. The negative is fans have a direct link to them.

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro is learning his posts on social media are scrutinized at every turn. The latest for Herro was when he “liked” a post that appeared to take a shot at Heat forward Jimmy Butler for taking off too many games during the regular season. He also liked a tweet that read: “Free Tyler from this toxic fanbase @MiamiHeat.”

Once it was discovered, it was met with analysis from Herro fans and critics across the Internet.

Who knows what Herro was trying to say or even if he was saying anything. The “like” could have been an attempt to poke humor at the post. Or it could have been a cryptic way of saying he wasn’t a fan of Butler taking off games last season.

Buter is coming off missing 22 games this past season. Some were for injuries. Some were for personal reasons. And some were sort of like maintenance games.

Butler’s absence left the lscoring oad on Herro and Bam Adebayo. The debate reached its peak when it appeared Heat team president Pat Riley addressed the issue without mentioning any player by name.

“To me, it sends a message that it’s OK to sit when you’re not 100 percent when no one in this league is 100 percent,” Riley said.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Inside The Heat. He can be reached at [email protected]

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