Eagles defensive end Chris Long is a smart guy. He’s well-spoken in interviews, informed about national issues and clever on social media. So it probably should have been clear right from the start that the tweet he sent Monday night was not meant to be taken at face value. That it was instead intended sarcastically, as a way to mock people who criticize athletes (mostly those who look like the average basketball player 🤔) for being weak, while proclaiming their preference for so-called “grinders.”
https://twitter.com/JOEL9ONE/status/1001295321119576064
But because people on the internet are generally poor at detecting sarcasm, more than a few prominent figures thought Long was actually dissing hockey players for being fragile.
Victims included Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw…
https://twitter.com/TimCowlishaw/status/1001306584373514240
Boston-based writer Jen Royle…
What in the hell…. Guarantee most NFL players couldn’t skate a 2-minute shift. This is brutal. https://t.co/7Ptxn8FaN0
— Jen Royle (@Jen_Royle) May 29, 2018
ESPN Seattle host Mike Salk…
This is one of the worst takes I've ever seen from a pro athlete. https://t.co/sxPTx4gBHX
— Mike Salk, Seattle Sports (@TheMikeSalk) May 29, 2018
TV writer Stefanie Williams…
https://twitter.com/StefWilliams25/status/1001302096615038977
Missouri radio host Matt Baer…
When a guy who literally sits half of the game in the sport he plays decides to get mouthy about the NHL… https://t.co/hnNB14w9WH
— Matt Baer (@MattBaer0074) May 29, 2018
Political operative Chris Hansen…
https://twitter.com/tankcat/status/1001303231539097600
Activist Yousef Munayyer…
You are wrong on this one. Top hockey players play 25 minutes a game over 82 games plus in a sport that combines speed, power, skill and contact. No greater grinders in the big four.
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) May 29, 2018
TSN Radio 690 (Montreal) host Mitch Melnick:
Love your feed but this is bad. And you would love hockey players pic.twitter.com/VO1g4yqwd6
— Mitch Melnick (@HunterZThompson) May 29, 2018
And a whole bunch of regular fans…
Chris, did you ever skate a shift in a hockey game. Try it some time. You’ll get a whole new perspective.
— Nick Ferraro (@PhillyElvis) May 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/PatsFanMatt/status/1001295518776127489
Chris love ya dude but come on man…hockey is a tough sport exactly like football. It’s more than just gliding on the ice man.
— Alex 🍒💧 (@Boston_316) May 29, 2018
Grinders??? Chris Paul sits for a sore hamstring in game 7. Hockey players playing with tears and broken bones in their bodies but you’d never know
— Rambo (@drambo44) May 29, 2018
But of all the gullible people who fell for Long’s tweet, none fell quite as hard as David Hookstead, a writer for conservative website The Daily Caller, who wrote an entire post (“NFL STAR HAS AN ABSURDLY STUPID TWEET ABOUT HOCKEY. HE COULDN’T BE MORE WRONG”) explaining just how off Long supposedly was. Here’s a wonderful excerpt, exactly as it appears on the page:
What is he talking about? He’d prefer watching grinders? Is he trying to just draw a reaction? There’s simply no way that anybody could possibly believe that NBA players are tougher or more interesting than NHL players. (SLIDESHOW: HOCKEY RINK
S MIGHT BE COLD, BUT THESE WOMEN ARE SCORCHING HOT) Hockey players skate around with knives attached to their feet. Knives on their feet! NBA players cry if they get breathed on too hard. Please don’t interpret this as me hating basketball. I love basketball, especially college. But facts are simply facts, and the reality is that NHL players are lightyears tougher than their NBA counterparts.
Long took note of The Daily Caller’s misread of his tweet, joking that he might have to take legal action against the website for sending angry hockey fans into his mentions.
https://twitter.com/JOEL9ONE/status/1001455398170365952
https://twitter.com/JOEL9ONE/status/1001457520899215360
https://twitter.com/JOEL9ONE/status/1001458388675584005
In a way, all the confusion around Long’s tweet proved his original point: that people laud hockey players for their toughness, often at the exclusion of other equally tough athletes in other sports.
But hey, at least the St. Louis Blues knew what was up.
@JOEL9ONE don't worry, we know you love hockey 💙 #stlblues pic.twitter.com/YUeSWkLbnH
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) May 29, 2018
