Fernando Mendoza Sparks Outrage With Alleged Derek Chauvin Comment
Saying something as innocuous as "we need context" shouldn't be a death sentence for Mendoza and his character.
While there has been much talk of Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza's potential landing spot in the NFL Draft later this month, the conversation has shifted to something few people could have seen coming.
A comment attributed to the Heisman Trophy winner that was reportedly made under a LeBron James 2020 Instagram post about Derek Chauvin, the Minnesota police officer who was convicted in the murder of George Floyd, has resurfaced and is sparking outrage from many NFL fans.
According to BroBible's Eric Italiano, the alleged comment has since been deleted, but that hasn't stopped several other fans on Instagram from commenting back and even threatening Mendoza in some instances.
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OutKick has been unable to verify if the alleged comment ever existed and is reaching out to Mendoza's camp for comment, though several outlets like Pop Crave and the aforementioned BroBible have screen grabs showing the alleged post. OutKick will update this story with comment if available.
If any of you were around for the George Floyd hysteria and ensuing "Summer of Love" in 2020, these reactions shouldn't surprise you, though it has been nearly six years since the incident.
What's extra sickening is the fact that Mendoza was only 16 years old at the time he allegedly posted this. He shouldn't be getting the hate he's receiving for something he may have written as a teenager, whether you agree with what the post allegedly said or not.
And let's take a look at exactly what, according to these reports, he allegedly said: "You need to explain the context of the first photo of the cop on the man, because you never know what he did wrong."
I'm not sure if you all remember the madness that stemmed from the death of George Floyd, but no one had any idea what was going on or the magnitude of what was about to happen. And, due to the nature of Instagram, we can't say with any precision when the alleged post was made.
Saying something as innocuous as "we need context" shouldn't be a death sentence for Mendoza and his character.
In this alleged post, Mendoza didn't call Floyd a racial slur or say he deserved to die. He saw a picture with zero context and basically told everyone to wait until the facts came out before jumping to conclusions, again, as a 16-year-old.
Plus, given some of the hoaxes over the years involving police-involved shootings and the absolute farce that Black Lives Matter ended up being, I think Mendoza, if he did make that post, deserves a little grace in being skeptical of the death of George Floyd in its immediate aftermath, without the benefit of hindsight.
Finally, the act of digging up people's possible social media posts from more than half a decade ago when they were in high school to try to ruin their lives just weeks before a seminal moment in their career is just disgusting.
Mendoza reportedly deleted the comment, showing he's at least aware of what he said. So the people trying to hunt him down and praying for a career-ending injury need to go touch some grass and get a life.