In one of the strangest sentences I’ll ever have the misfortune to write: Sean Payton took to Twitter on Wednesday night to correct a Shooter McGavin parody account about an “emergency meeting” between Saints players and Brees … “on the 9th green at 9 tonight.”
Payton responded on Twitter, calling it “complete B.S.”
Let me just say right up front, right off the bat, bolded: It’s likely that Payton is joking around here.
But to that I say: A joke might honestly be worse?
Quickly, here’s the backstory. Yesterday it broke that Drew Brees gave an interview in which he doubled down on his stance that NFL players who had protested by taking a knee during the national anthem were being offensive to veterans.
While Brees probably thought he was being consistent in his messaging, the note came off as totally tone deaf as players who knelt were trying to raise awareness about police violence in this country, which has become horrifyingly relevant over the last few weeks.
Some of Brees’ teammates and players around the league called him out. Which led to … a tweet from a Shooter McGavin parody account in which they recycled a 24-year-old joke from an Adam Sandler movie.
Them, stunningly, the head coach of the New Orleans Saints responded. Twice.
The second tweet seemed to try and reinforce that the first was a joke.
So yes, I’m inclined to believe that Payton was joking. However, this is a really bizarre time to be making a joke.
Many of Brees’ teammates are furious at him for not recognizing the moment we’re in and re-affirming his (incorrect) stance equating the peaceful protest by NFL players as some sort of denigration of the military.
So Payton either:
A) Got duped by a Shooter McGavin parody account which he took as an actual NFL insider reporting something or, worse —
B) Thought it was funny to make a joke about a possible team meeting between an enraged Saints group and its quarterback leader.
So yeah, now you know all this information. I’m glad I’m not alone in it anymore.
