Getty Rob Gronkowski isn't a fan of the spotlight on "Baby Gronk", a 10-year-old turned social media star.
Former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star tight end Rob Gronkowski normally has a big heart for young people in sports.
As for “Baby Gronk,” it’s another story. Gronkowski talked openly about the social media star, 327,000 followers on Instagram, during the recent Tight End University.
Madden San Miguel, 10, known as “Baby Gronk”, gained notoriety for youth football skills and workout habits amid constant promotion by his father, Jake San Miguel. That promotion included reaching out to Gronkowski himself — often.
“Four weeks ago, my brother told me, ‘Yo, have you seen Baby Gronk?’ ‘Did I see him? ‘ I go, ‘His dad [expletive] hit me up 500 times already.’ He goes, ‘Don’t do anything,'” Gronkowski said in a video from “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast crew, which contains expletives.
Rob Gronkowski says Baby Gronk’s dad has messaged him “500 times” t.co/wfM1PB2qAM
“And this was like five, six weeks ago. And then all of a sudden, two weeks later, it’s coming out everywhere. My brother died laughing,” Gronkowski continued.
“It’s to a point where it’s awkward. It’s too far,” Gronkowski added. “We are cease-and-desisting Baby Gronk’s dad.”
Gronkowski played 11 seasons in the NFL for the Patriots and Bucs as he became known as one of the greatest tight ends of all time. Known as “Gronk”, Gronkowski won four Super Bowls and amassed 621 receptions for 9,286 yards and 92 touchdowns in his career.
Rob Gronkowski isn’t Alone Amid ‘Baby Gronk’ Concerns
NFL free agent linebacker and “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast host Will Compton, most recently a Las Vegas Raiders player in 2021, raised his own concerns.
“This is for Baby Gronk’s father: You’re not coming on ‘Bussin With the Boys’. I personally disagree with what you’re doing,” Compton said in a video, which contains expletives. “What I think is: you’re exploiting your son for social clout, status, fame, money and to fill a void you couldn’t fill.”
“I think this is all about you,” Compton added. You’re hiding all behind this nonsense that’s it not about you and you’re building him a bank account for a safety net that he’s going to be a millionaire by the time he’s a senior in high school.”
“We’re not joining this circus,” Compton concluded. “Wolves don’t perform in the circus. I’m telling you, this isn’t gonna end well. Do you actually think he’s gonna want to grow up and want to do the same thing with his son that you’re doing with him?”
Father of ‘Baby Gronk’ Says He Had This Planned ‘Since Before He Was Born’
While only 1o years old, “Baby Gronk” has an aspiring professional athlete’s lifestyle that’s well beyond the norm under the elder San Miguel’s watch.
“I’ve had a plan for my son since before he was born,” the elder San Miguel told The Athletic. “It’s playing out now.”
That’s everything from football camps, college visits, and connecting with high-profile athletes such as Shaquille O’Neal and LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne. The Athletic’s Ari Wasserman took an inside look at the younger San Miguel’s life — including his diet.
“We put [in] five or six days a week of training. He diets, he eats clean foods, salmon and brown rice,” the elder San Miguel told Wasserman. “He is in a routine. He’s a real athlete. He’s not a normal kid. Normal kids are emotional. They put their head down when they make mistakes, talk back to the coaches, they make noises, but he doesn’t do that. He has been trained and programmed since he was 6 years old.”
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Rob Gronkowski Sounds off on ‘Baby Gronk’