Yakou Meite says he never considered deleting his social media accounts after receiving racist abuse
Reading striker Yakou Meite highlighted racist abuse sent to him on social media to show how it can affect "humans rather than footballers".
Meite, 23, received abuse on Instagram after he had a penalty saved in the win against Cardiff earlier this month.
The Ivory Coast international posted screenshots of the messages on both Twitter and Instagram.
"It's about showing people what can happen," he told BBC Radio Berkshire. "I'm a human before I'm a footballer."
Meite was subjected to abuse in the same week as Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham and Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.
Those incidents have led to Twitter agreeing to meet with Manchester United and equality and inclusion organisation Kick It Out in a bid address the issue.
Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville has suggested players "boycott" social media, advice Meite has chosen to disregard.
"This abuse came from one person," he said. "If I'd chosen to delete my Twitter and Instagram accounts after receiving it, I wouldn't have seen the hundreds of messages of support I've had from fans.
"That's not just Reading fans, but from hundreds of other clubs too.
"This is an issue that concerns everyone, not just black players, as this type of abuse is everywhere.
"It's a shame for football and not just English football as we've seen it for some time in both Italy and France. We need to deal with it and find a solution."
Yakou Meite was speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire's Bridgitte Tetteh.
Source: bbc.com