After Rams left tackle Andrew Whitworth helped L.A. beat the 49ers in Sunday’s NFC Championship game, he put former San Francisco star Joe Staley on blast in a since-deleted Instagram post.
Whitworth took aim at Staley over a tweet the retired left tackle shared on Jan. 23, quoting Whitworth’s wife, who asked Rams fans on Twitter not to sell their tickets to the NFC championship game to 49ers fans.
“If you @RamsNFL fans want to sell your tickets – I’ll buy them. Just DO NOT sell them to the other team PLEASE!” she tweeted in the days leading up to the game when Rams fans were concerned about 49ers fans flooding SoFi stadium.
Staley switched up the words in his tweet, writing, “If you @RamsNFL fans want to sell your tickets – I’ll buy them. Just DO NOT sell them to your own team PLEASE!”
Whitworth went off on Staley and called his actions “embarrassing” for the game of football.
“My guys who have played the @nfl game. Been in the trenches. Could you imagine trying to troll another player’s wife,” Whitworth shared on Instagram. “When you not even a player anymore? Having 49ers fans troll her all week. Sending her nasty crap. (Used) to respect this guy.
“This ain’t it! Could you imagine being an elite player to only become a fan who try’s to troll women or significant others of players. Life comes as at you fast! I’m who I am because this would never be me. I respect the game. The men who come after me and before me. Would never disrespect regardless of my cheerleader feelings. My children even know better than this. But that’s why I’m me. And he’s him!”
Whitworth wasn’t done, promising to have future words for Staley.
“Embarrassing for our game,” he continued. “49ers fans can say anything they want ! Y’all can buy all the tickets you want to the super bowl! I would hope a legend of the game would leave a players wife out of it. Attack the woman tough guy! I’ll address that at a later date!”
Whitworth’s wife tweeted at Staley a few times, writing, “Omg it’s really an honor. Joe. Thanks for the retweet.”
In another tweet, she wrote, “Hey @RamsNFL fans…. @jstaley74 is a big old tough guy who trolls other nfl players wives. It worked out well for him today.”
She also took time to reply to some Twitter users that joined Staley in his trolling efforts.
Whitworth called one 49ers fan “classless” in a tweet accusing the person of “being an asshole to a players wife.”
On Monday, Whitworth took to his Instagram story to explain why he deleted the post.
“I said my side of it. And now I’m going to delete it. I don’t [want] that crap on my feed anymore. I just hold him in regard and don’t approbate initing trolling without a respectful shout to me. That was it. It’s over now,” Whitworth wrote, adding, “Never disrespect the game. NFL is a brotherhood in my eyes.”
Staley, an NFL analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area, covered the Rams-49ers game for the network.
The Rams will play host to the Bengals in Super Bowl 2022 on Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium.