Kenneth Gainwell knows he made a mistake by responding to a direct message on Instagram and his head coach, Nick Sirianni, told the media how he talked to the young Eagles star about it.
“Should he respond to somebody that’s DM’ing him? No, he shouldn’t respond to that guy or that girl at all,” Sirianni said (h/t ABC Sports). “And so, yes of course we talked to him about that, to be locked in and focused and not worried about outside noise. He knows he made a mistake responding back to that person.”
The running back had apparently responded to the DM on Sunday at halftime during the Eagles’ 38-31 win over the Washington Commanders.
Someone wrote “Hold on to the football you ——- bum,” in a message.
Gainwell responded, “Lil boy don’t text me,” to which the original sender responded: “Get off your phone”.
Naturally, screenshots don’t lie and the exchange made its way across social media platforms including Twitter/X.
What the message sender could have been referring to was a “Tush Push” attempt when quarterback Jalen Hurts fumbled at the Washington 1-yard line. After that, Gainwell lost a fumble at the four in the first half.
“Kenny had a fumble this week, but he had an unbelievable run the week before against Miami,” Sirianni added. “I still have a lot of faith in these guys, and I still have a lot of faith in Kenny.”
Gainwell wasn’t used steadily in 2022 when his pass-catching skills weren’t exactly required for the Eagles as they made their bid toward the Super Bowl. However, his usage increased quite a bit this season.
Despite the social media exchange, the team gave Washington their fifth loss in six games even after quarterback Sam Howell threw for a career-high 397 yards and four touchdowns.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.