Jimmy Garoppolo has explained his reasoning for using the word “baby” during a recent post-game interview with Erin Andrews.
On 31 October, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback sparked rumours on social media that he was flirting with Andrews when he told the sports reporter that it “feels great, baby” to have beaten the Arizona Cardinals 28-25.
“Erin’s married, sorry Jimmy,” one person wrote on Twitter, where the clip was seen more than 174,000 times, while another said: “I hope someone told him she’s married.”
Others said that they felt Garoppolo’s behaviour was inappropriate, and could be considered workplace harassment.
However, the American football player has since cleared up his intentions, explaining that he was just “excited” and that he uses the endearment “like 500 times throughout a game”.
"I didn’t expect it to blow up like that,” Garoppolo told reporters during a press conference Thursday. “I was excited - eight and zero, baby.”
He then added: “I say baby like 500 times throughout a game, just to my teammates and stuff. It wasn’t like that.”
And despite the reactions online, Andrews, who is married to former NHL star Jarret Stoll, also didn’t appear to take Garoppolo’s choice of language too seriously.
After Garoppolo’s press conference, the Dancing with the Stars co-host retweeted the video and added: “Exactly!!”
