You never want to be the story in sports journalism – or any other kind of journalism, for that matter. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, though. On Thursday, Falcons defensive end/linebacker Takkarist McKinley took part in a very brief press conference with reporters. Takk was clearly uncomfortable and kept his answers as short and Marshawn Lynch-like as possible, replying to every question with some form of “it’s good.”
One reporter took exception to McKinley’s behavior and shared a subtweet directed at Takk reminding him about his media obligations. Here’s D. Orlando Ledbetter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution complaining about Takk’s total non-press conference performance.
Many good pass rushers are competitive and fiery by nature, and McKinley is no exception to the rule. In response, Takk shared an old Spongebob meme mocking Ledbetter.
We’re not picking sides here, but it’s probably worth mentioning that McKinley isn’t the first player Ledbetter has clashed with this offseason. A story he wrote about first-round pick Kaleb McGary being “socially awkward” did not go over well at all, either.
Then again, Takk hasn’t been totally blameless in 2019, either. Last week, he got into a scuffle with tight end Luke Stocker in a drill and they had to be separated.
