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Andy Murray takes a stand on Scottish independence - gets crucified on Twitter

Busted Racquet
FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012 file photo, gold medalist Andy Murray of Great Britain waves the British flag during the medal ceremony of the men's singles event at Wimbledon. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, file)
FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012 file photo, gold medalist Andy Murray of Great Britain waves the British flag during the medal ceremony of the men's singles event at Wimbledon. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, file)

The people of Scotland go to the pools today to vote on whether they want to achieve independence from the mothership in Great Britain.

And Scotland's greatest tennis player, Andy Murray, who plays under the Great Britain banner, took a stand on Wednesday:

Six months ago, Murray contended he wouldn't go there, because it was a no-win situation. He had a last-minute change of heart.

Reaction, not surprisingly, came quickly.

Murray has 2.7 million Twitter followers. As of 10 a.m. EDT, he was reTweeted nearly 16,000 times, and favorited more than 10,000 times.

There is irony to his stand, of course.

Many also saluted his statement.

There will be fallout from this, regardless how how the vote goes.

Murray has always struggled to be beloved by the Brits, even though he was the one who ended the 76-year drought by winning Wimbledon in 2013. It's partly his public personality; he's a shy soul, and doesn't always come across as warm and fuzzy.

As well, he made a casual joke about Scottish and British football (soccer) and what side he was on many years ago – and people still bring it up as the reason why they don't like him.

This Tweet could be prescient.