Jared Max: Boom! Colin Kaepernick 1, Twitter Troll 0
By Jared Max
» More Columns
I love when performers confront their hecklers in surgical fashion, like Colin Kaepernick did Wednesday.
When the 49ers' quarterback called out a trolling tweeter, he sent multiple messages to our Twitterverse.
1. If you publicly criticize another, know the facts before you make a fool of yourself.
2. If you pose as an armchair quarterback, be prepared for a real QB to school you on what it takes to wear his jock.
3. If you attempt to empower yourself by poking at a celebrity, the world may get to see how small the size of your .. list of followers is.
4. Social media is an equal opportunist; its sword cuts both ways
After Kaepernick tweeted how he spent Wednesday working out and studying, he showed the world how he eludes a blind-side sack. He also drew an unsportsmanlike penalty from his attacker, who tweeted both the QB and his team, "ab workout won't help find open receiver #study."
Kaepernick read the loudmouth rookie like an imbalanced blitz and called an audible. After his detractor jumped offsides, the quarterback snapped a free play, firing an open touchdown.
Kaepernick's response speaks to anybody who has been falsely accused. Not only did the troll get called out for poor reading comprehension, but his accusation boomeranged. He became like a student who tried to pass a note in class, only to have it intercepted by his teacher and forced to read it aloud. Not only did he get caught, but his classmates learned that he did not know how to read.
The troll's initial mistake created a domino effect against him.
1. He failed to recognize the word "study" in Kaepernick's initial tweet.
2. As a result of not seeing the word "study," his confirmation bias against Kaepernick became falsely armed.
3. Because his accusation was so off-base, he was challenged to perform the same job that he had just falsely accused the 49er of not doing.
Kaepernick scored a knockout. Then, he body-planted the troll.
Thank you, Colin. Thank you for putting the peanut gallery on notice. Thank you for speaking up. My greatest hope is that actions like yours can disarm future snipers in the "Gotcha" game.
Just because Twitter is an Open House sign, it does not grant you the right to enter a lavish estate, dripping a jelly doughnut from your beer-smelling hands while you kick your dirty shoes up on the couch.
Jared Max is a multi-award winning sportscaster. He hosted a No. 1 rated New York City sports talk show, "Maxed Out" — in addition to previously serving as longtime Sports Director at WCBS 880, where he currently anchors weekend sports. Follow and communicate with Jared on Twitter @jared_max.
