Joe Staley committed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on social media — in Andrew Whitworth's mind, at least.
After Whitworth and the Rams defeated the 49ers in Sunday's NFC championship game, the 40-year-old called out the former San Francisco offensive tackle in an Instagram post. Earlier in the week, Staley trolled Whitworth's wife, Melissa, on Twitter. She had offered to buy tickets from Rams fans in order to prevent SoFi Stadium from being filled with 49ers supporters, and Staley quote tweeted her and mimicked her phrasing.
If you @RamsNFL fans want to sell your tickets - I’ll buy them. Just DO NOT sell them to your own team PLEASE! https://t.co/vHr3ZEv21O
— Joe Staley (@jstaley74) January 24, 2022
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Whitworth then ripped Staley for his "embarrasing" tweet. Here is his full Instagram post:
My guys who have played the [NFL] game. Been in the trenches. Could you imagine trying to troll another player's wife? When you [are] 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 [tries] 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! Embarrassing for our game. 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 [player's] wife out of it. Attack the woman tough guy! I'll address that at a later date!
I’ve never seen Big Whit go off the way he has in the past three weeks. He doesn’t even care anymore pic.twitter.com/JCWtxMDdrR
— Sosa Kremenjas (@QBsMVP) January 31, 2022
Staley, who played for the 49ers from 2007-2019 and currently serves as an NFL analyst for NBC Sports Bay Area, didn't address Whitworth's comments on his social media channels. Whitworth later deleted the post.
Melissa attempted to bury the drama on Monday, tweeting that Staley and Whitworth are "cool now," so it's time for everyone to "move on."
Listen y’all they cool now everyone move on……. https://t.co/PRNBfnGRSn
— Melissa Whitworth (@mrs_whit77) February 1, 2022
It appears the O-line beef has been put in the rear-view mirror, which is a wise move on Whitworth's part. He's got to focus on his film and playbook, not ticket sales, ahead of the Rams' Super Bowl 56 matchup with the Bengals.