The Jacksonville Jaguars don't often create this much discourse.
But after their season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills in the opening round of the playoffs, a press conference interaction between Jags head coach Liam Coen and a reporter drew a lot of scrutiny.
Lynn Jones of the Jacksonville Free Press News said this to Coen during the press conference:
“How you doing today, Lynn Jones, Jacksonville Free Press News . I just want to tell you, congratulations on your success young man. You hold your head up, alright? You guys have had a most magnificent season. You did a great job out there today. You just hold your head up, okay? Ladies and gentlemen, Duval, you the one. Keep it going, we got another season, okay? Take care, and much continued success to you and the entire team.”
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Coen replied, "Appreciate it. Thank you, ma'am."
ESPN's Adam Schefter shared the interaction on X, and it got lots of feedback.
Most reporters were critical of this interaction.
"Either be a reporter. Or be a fan. You can't do both," wrote the Associated Press' John Wawrow.
DMV-area radio host Grant Paulsen wrote, "Post game presser isn’t the place for pompoms. It’s a work place. You want to grab him off to the side and tell him you love him? Fine. But this makes the whole media room look like amateur hour and gives off a vibe that they’re just credentialing anybody."
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But other comments from non-journalists included things like, "The fact that people are pressed over kindness is the entire problem with society," and, "There are so many bad things happening in the world right now so if you’re using your time to complain about this, you’re just a miserable person."
You probably feel strongly one way or the other, too.
It appears to be quite the dividing line on social media, which, well, welcome to social media.
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