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Whether it’s post-game meltdowns, referee rants, trade rumors, or weekly lineup debates, sports fans are never short of opinions – and some communities can be far more direct about it than others.
But which fanbases are genuinely the most toxic? And which teams have the most level-headed supporters?
To find out, CCN analyzed more than 700,000 comments across NFL, NBA, NHL, and Premier League subreddits. Using a natural-language processing model trained to detect aggressive, insulting, obscene, or otherwise toxic language, CCN scored every single comment to rank the best and worst fanbases in sports.
Key Findings
- Dallas Mavericks fans are the most toxic online, with just over half (52%) of comments in their subreddit flagged for toxic language – more than any other fanbase in the study.
- Colorado Avalanche (50%) and Calgary Flames (49%) supporters aren’t far behind, making NHL communities some of the most heated spaces on Reddit.
- Utah Mammoth, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Brentford fans sit at the opposite end of the spectrum, with the lowest share of toxic comments across all leagues.
- On average, Premier League fans are the least toxic overall, posting fewer flagged comments than fans of the NFL, NBA, or NHL.
- Across all sports, almost one-third (29%) of comments contained some form of toxic language.
The Most and Least Toxic Fanbases Online
Below is a list of the 10 worst and 10 best fanbases in professional sports, ranked by the percentage of toxic comments.
Top 10 Most Toxic Fanbases
With more than half of all comments in their subreddit flagged for some kind of toxic language, Dallas Mavericks fans top the rankings as the most toxic fanbase in professional sports.
Close behind are a fiery NHL duo, the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames, where nearly half of the community comments show signs of toxicity.
NHL fanbases make up over half of our top 10 worst fanbases, including the Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs, officially making hockey fans sports’ biggest hotheads.
Rounding out the top 10 were New York Giants and New York Jets fans, suggesting that patience is in short supply in the Big Apple.
Top 10 Least Toxic Fanbases
The honor of the most level-headed fanbase goes to the NHL’s newest team, the Utah Mammoth, whose subreddit shows the lowest toxicity rate of any community analyzed.
They are followed by a cluster of Premier League clubs — Brighton, Brentford, Bournemouth, and Fulham, whose fans appear far more measured online than their real-world reputations might suggest.
Seattle Kraken and Pittsburgh Penguins supporters also rank among the most respectful fan bases, while the San Antonio Spurs are considered the least toxic in the NBA.
Overall, the bottom 10 is generally a mix of smaller-market teams and newer franchises, where discussions appear to be more measured and less prone to full-blown meltdowns.
Best & Worst NFL Fanbases
While only two NFL communities appear in the top 10 most toxic overall, the league records the highest average toxicity across all sports (32%).
The Giants and Jets top the NFL list after a run of difficult seasons, while Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, and Los Angeles Rams fans show far more restraint.
Interestingly, Eagles fans, often labeled as the league’s most passionate and intense, sit near the middle of the table.
Best & Worst NBA Fanbase
While Dallas Mavericks fans dominate the toxicity table, fans of the Spurs, Cavs, and Hawks posted significantly fewer toxic messages than the league average.
Collectively, around 30% of comments from NBA fans demonstrated some level of toxicity, the second-highest among the sports analyzed.
Best & Worst NHL Fanbases
NHL fans are famously passionate, and the data support this. Six of the 10 worst fanbases in the entire study belong to NHL teams.
However, the league also contains some of the most civil communities, including fans of the Utah Mammoth, Seattle Kraken, and Washington Capitals.
Overall, the NHL average was 28%, slightly below that of the NBA and NFL.
Best & Worst Premier League Fanbases
Compared to US sports, Premier League fans are considerably more restrained – at least online.
Just a quarter of comments contained toxic language, the lowest of any league.
Even the most passionate EPL communities, such as West Ham, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa, would barely break into the top 10 if they were in the NFL or NHL.
Meanwhile, Brighton, Brentford, and Bournemouth fans are among the least toxic sports communities anywhere, helping the EPL claim the title of the most civil sports league on Reddit.
Ryan Boltman, Spokesperson for CCN commented:
“Sports fans care deeply about their teams, and that passion sometimes spills over into other areas of their lives, especially online.”
“What our study shows is just how differently communities behave. Some fanbases thrive on debate and heated exchanges, while others stay supportive even during difficult runs.”
“It’s that same emotional connection that makes fans seek out new ways to engage with their team, whether it’s breaking down highlights, discussing strategy, or putting their words into action and betting on their team to bring home a trophy.”
Methodology
An analysis of comments on the top 50 posts over the last 12 months from NFL, NBA, NHL, and Premier League team subreddits.
A RoBERTa based natural language processing (NLP) model available through HuggingFace was used to identify and score comments that contained aggressive, insulting, obscene, or other toxic language.
Each comment received a probability score (0 to 1) for each category. Scores above 0.5 were treated as a positive detection.
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This sponsored press release was provided by a third party and is for informational purposes only. CCN and its editorial team has not verified the accuracy of its content, does not endorse it and expressly disclaim any liability arising from its use. Readers are solely responsible for conducting their own due diligence and research before taking any action based on the information contained here.
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