The Browns released safety Jermaine Whitehead following an outburst of threats against critics on social media. While it does not excuse Whitehead’s actions, a number of fellow players understood what led him there, according to ESPN Staff Writer Jeremy Fowler. Fowler describes it as commonplace for players to return to their lockers after games and check their phones before even removing their pads. Players describe an accumulation of frustration with fans criticism that often goes beyond and enters the realm of hatefulness.
Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree had a similar, albeit substantially milder, incident last season involving his response to a tweet. Dupree mentioned specific tweets, some that included racial slurs, that eventually pushed him to react. The league has an instituted “cooling off period,” which restricts players ability to post on social media after games, but Whitehead’s threats came far after that period ended. It will be interested to see if Whitehead’s decision changes how the league, teams, and players approach social media and if more players choose to eliminate the practice altogether.
Here’s more news from around the league off the field:
- Free-agent wide receiver Antonio Brown had seemed hopeful that he could soon return to the field. While the currently unsigned wideout remains marred in controversy, a number of social media posts last week suggested he may have been approaching a new deal. However, there is no reason to believe any team would be interested in signing Brown at the moment because they believe he would be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list as soon as he was signed, according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post.
- The NFL upheld the league’s indefinite suspension of Browns defensive end Myles Garrett yesterday. One point in Garrett’s appeal, which has garnered significant social media attention, was an accusation that Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph used a racial slur against Garrett that prompted his violent response. When the league upheld Garrett’s suspension, many assumed the league had reviewed the on-field audio recorded and found no corroborating evidence. That now appears to be only half the story. The NFL did find no evidence Rudolph used a racial slur, but the league also had no recorded sound on the field to review in the case, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com.
I’m not taking a stance on this, but don’t the QB helmets have mics in them? Is it only one way or does it record what the QB says too?
I’m pretty sure it’s only one way. Unless they let the nfl put one in for mike’d up segments
Yeah, there’s only a speaker within those helmets for the coach who calls the plays to speak into, and it gets shut off by NFL personnel when the playclock reaches 25 seconds. No microphone in it for the QB to speak back into.
It wouldn’t shocked me if it’s all deleted immediately after the game so a team can’t hack and still all the information
Ya but it broke after before big slammed on Rudolph the jackass’s dome!!
Side note watch any Rams game and notice the defense make final adjustments within the last five seconds of the play clock running out when the mic is turned off. Goff cannot adjust when the coach does not tell him what to do. Last year Rams offensive looked unstoppable, league figures Goff out and this year their offensive is lackluster. Now go back to the race he said he said stuff.
My understanding was Garret was miked up for the game. What about his audio?
Garrett and the Browns both issued apologies to Rudolph.
So, Garrett apologized to a guy who used a racial epitaph against him and went almost a week before telling anyone and not one other person on the team said anything?
C’mon.
Exactly
Some players need to choose between their careers and their Twitter accounts
Some presidents too.
Hey everyone come to a sports site and read about some bozo and his political beliefs. I am no Trump fan but I don’t want to read it in here. Before the don’t read it then parrots pop up. This is a sports site not a political a political site.
I wonder what the ratio of “social media truly helped my career” players to “social media cost me a lot of money” players is…