Getty Former Chicago Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long went off on one analyst who laid out an insensitive plan for the NFL's return.
Former Bears guard Kyle Long did not hold back on the playing field, and he doesn’t hold back on Twitter, either. Long, who retired this past offseason, went off on sports business reporter Darren Rovell on Monday after Rovell detailed a ridiculously insensitive plan for the NFL to return amidst coronavirus concerns.
Rovell tweeted out his idea of a three-step plan for the NFL to consider in order to get back to action: “This is how it’s done,” Rovell began. “1. Players sign waivers that team isn’t responsible for them contracting Covid-19. 2. All players will sign (They already get CTE with near certainty). 3. Players who test positive stay out for 2 weeks.”
This is how it’s done:
1. Players sign waivers that team isn’t responsible for them contracting Covid-19.
2. All players will sign. (They already get CTE with near certainty).
3. Players who test positive stay out for 2 weeks. t.co/mTNlsXjtAt
Rovell’s tweet was a reaction to an article in which Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed skepticism about players remaining safe when the sport of football itself is “the perfect setup for spreading” the coronavirus. A few former players tore into Rovell for his assumption players don’t value their brains or their lives, including former quarterback Sage Rosenfels, who went back and forth with Rovell, calling his statements reckless. Rovell, in turn, double down on his initial take.
@darrenrovell I’m fairly certain I won’t have CTE. But go ahead and minimize our lives.
@darrenrovell Based off my experience knowing how many times I was hit in the head.
Getting CTE has nothing to do with the willingness to get COVID-19.
Your statement is wreckless.
CTE isn’t passed to family members. Players or family can die quickly from C-19, not CTE. I could go on and on.
Former Bears guard Kyle Long also responded to Rovell, and his tweet warrants a MAJOR NSFW warning, because he used far more colorful language than Rosenfels did.
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Kyle Long to Darren Rovell: ‘Straight Up Eat Sh*t’
GettyFormer Chicago Bears Guard Kyle Long tore into sports business analyst Darren Rovell on Twitter Monday. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
Long, who played seven seasons in the NFL, all with the Bears, was one of the team’s leaders, and he saw his career end prematurely due to a lengthy list of injuries that piled up. The former right guard for the Bears took umbrage with Rovell’s tweet — so much so, he used language he rarely ever uses on social media. Warning: the following tweet contains NSFW language some could find offensive.
In response to Rovell, Long retweeted him, saying “straight up eat sh*t, u cuck,” before adding in a subsequent tweet: “What a classless way of presenting that case. Wow.”
What a classless way of presenting that case. Wow
Long added one more tweet before he was done commenting on the subject: “I used to enjoy Rovells dollars and cents tweets or his random facts tweets. But man things change, people, feelings change too.”
I used to enjoy Rovells dollars and cents tweets or his random facts tweets. But man things change, people, feelings change too
Despite NFL Schedule Release, 2020 Season Remains a Question Mark
Rovell’s comments were ultimately both insensitive and irrelevant, as much of what the NFL does will also depend on what individual states do. For the Chicago Bears, it’s looking like if there’s football in the fall, it will happen without fans in the stands. Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker was recently asked about whether the Bears will be able to play at Soldier Field for the upcoming season, and his response signals a very different-looking potential season:
“If the nation isn’t in a state where we can have tens of thousands of people together in a stadium then I don’t think you’re going to see football opening up to having fans in the stands,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker is asked about whether we’ll see the Bears play at Soldier Field this year: “If the nation isn’t in a state where we can have tens of thousands of people together in a stadium than I don’t think you’re going to see football opening up to having fans in the stands.”
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