NFL columnist Jim Trotter wrote a column criticizing the NFL and San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa for wearing a MAGA hat on live TV after his team beat the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. However, he says his column didn't bash Bosa as hard as he wanted to.
Trotter wrote that the published version of his column was a "watered-down" version, saying his original draft did not adhere to the journalistic standards of The New York Times-owned sports news outlet, The Athletic.
"Full disclosure, this is the watered-down version of the original column. I was not allowed to properly, IMO, contextualize the significance and consequence of the moment because, I was told, I’d be in violation of the NYT’s journalistic standards regarding sports and political commentary. But that’s a discussion for another day," Trotter wrote in response to a post on X that shared his column.
Trotter later corrected himself.
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"Correction: I should have referred to it as a violation of The Athletic’s journalistic standards and not the journalistic standards of the NYT," Trotter wrote.
The published version of Trotter's column included multiple passages critical of Bosa, and the writer suggested Bosa should face discipline for the stunt.
"Many could not focus on the message because of the messenger. My hope is that the same mistake is not made with Bosa. His actions are his actions. His personal beliefs are his personal beliefs. But if the goal of the NFL is to keep political expressions off its fields, then Bosa should face some type of discipline," one passage said.
Rule 5, Section 4, Article 8 of the NFL's rulebook states, "The league will not grant permission for any club or player to wear, display, or otherwise convey messages, through helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, mouthpieces, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment, which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns."
In another excerpt, Trotter said he would "have more respect" for Bosa if the defensive end spoke more about his beliefs after the game.
"As for Bosa, I’d have more respect for him if he stood 10 toes down in his beliefs. During his postgame meeting with the media, he literally switched hats and refused to discuss his demonstration," Trotter wrote.
Still, the column acknowledged Bosa has a right to his beliefs.
Fox News Digital has reached out to The New York Times for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
A statement from The Athletic provided to Awful Announcing said, "The New York Times standards played no role in this process. The story went through the normal editing process at The Athletic. We don’t publicly discuss our editorial decision-making."
The incident involving Bosa's MAGA hat has become the subject of widespread debate after his team's win over the Cowboys Sunday night. The stunt has also been perceived to have been censored by NBC, the network responsible for broadcasting the game.
Witnesses say they saw an edited version of the postgame interview on NBC's social media handles that edited Bosa out of the clip. However, an unedited version that includes Bosa is the most recent video posted by NBC's handles.
It wasn't the first time Bosa has gone public with his support for Trump. He revealed in 2019 that he scrubbed his X account of Trump posts and Colin Kaepernick criticism over fears he may not be fully embraced by the city of San Francisco should he be drafted by the 49ers.
Bosa was later asked about his decision to send a political message on the field Sunday night, but he declined to elaborate.
"I'm not going to talk too much about it, but it's an important time," Bosa said in a postgame press conference.
Longtime sports broadcaster Bomani Jones challenged Bosa to "speak up."
Jones noted that Bosa made the decision to show his support for a political candidate in a public forum.
"Somebody asked him about it in the press conference after the game. I mean, he was putting on for Trump. What do you mean you aren’t gonna talk too much about it, partner? You made that call; you did that. You brought us here. You decided that you wanted to put that out there, and that’s an important time," Jones said on the latest edition of "The Right Time with Bomani Jones."
"Now, to me, the question to ask there is why is it an important time? Because I don’t know that dude."
Former Chicago Bears player Brian Urlacher expressed his support for Bosa. He commented on Bosa’s Instagram post, in which the 49ers defensive lineman posted photos, including the moment he showed the supportive Trump cap.
"MAGA," Urlacher wrote in the comments section, along with two American flags.
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