Mets Owner Steve Cohen Taking a Break from Twitter After Family Received Threats

New York Mets owner Steve Cohen announced Saturday that he will be taking a break from Twitter.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweeted the following statement from Cohen:

"I've really enjoyed the back and forth with Mets fans on Twitter which was unfortunately overtaken this week by misinformation unrelated to the Mets that led to our family getting personal threats. So I'm going to take a break for now.

"We have other ways to listen to your suggestions and remain committed to doing that. I love our team, this community, and our fans, who are the best in baseball. Bottom line is that this week's events in no way affect our resources and drive to put a championship team on the field #LGM."

Cohen, who made his fortune as a hedge fund manager, was placed firmly in the middle of the controversy surrounding video game retailer GameStop's stocks this week.

With investors artificially inflating the price of the company's stock and making big money in the process, hedge funds that short sold the stock took a major hit. Per Graig Graziosi of Independent, Cohen's Point72 hedge fund teamed with Citadel to invest $2.75 billion into Melvin Capital so it could buy back the GameStop stock at inflated prices after attempting to short sell.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was among the most notable people to speak out against financial services company Robinhood blocking people from trading GameStop stock on its app, which led to him and Cohen having a back-and-forth on Twitter.

Portnoy suggested that Cohen should go to prison after Robinhood restricted trading:

Per Thornton McEnery of the New York Post, Cohen responded: "Hey Dave, what's your beef with me? I'm just trying to make a living just like you. Happy to take this offline."

Portnoy later expressed his belief that Cohen had a "strong hand" in Robinhood's actions, but Cohen denied culpability: "Those questions should be directed at Robin Hood etc. I'm a trader just like you are."

Cohen, 64, officially purchased the Mets in November, and there is a great deal of excitement surrounding the team's prospects for 2021 and beyond.

New York has already made some big moves during Cohen's tenure, including acquiring shortstop Francisco Lindor and pitcher Carlos Carrasco from Cleveland and signing catcher James McCann.

The Mets have not reached the playoffs since 2015, but they seem like strong candidates to get back to the postseason in 2021, and Cohen appears to be shifting his focus toward that rather than debating stocks on Twitter.