Writer Says Article Criticizing Nick Bosa For MAGA Hat Was ‘Watered Down’ Version Of Mainstream Media

NFL columnist Jim Trotter wrote a column criticizing NFL star and San Francisco 49ers Nick Bosa for a MAGA hat live after his team beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. However, he says his column did not criticize Bosa as much as he would have liked.

Trotter wrote that the published version of his column was a “watered down” version, saying his original draft did not meet the journalistic standards of The New York Times– the owner of the sports news publication The Athletic.

“Full disclosure, this is a watered down version of the original column. I was not allowed to adequately, IMO, contextualize the meaning and implications of the moment, as I was told I would violate the NYT’s journalistic standards. on sports and political commentary, Trotter wrote in response to the publication in his column.

Trotter later corrected himself.

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“Correction: I should have called this a violation of The Athletic’s journalistic standards, not the NYT’s journalistic standards,” Trotter wrote.

The published version of Trotter’s column contained several passages critical of Bosa, and the author suggested that Bosa should be punished for the stunt.

“Many could not concentrate on the message through the messenger. I hope the same mistake is not made with Boza. His actions its actions His personal beliefs its personal beliefs. But if the NFL’s goal is to keep political speech out of its fields, then Bosa should face some type of discipline,” one of the excerpts read.

Rule 5, Section 4, Article 8 of the NFL’s rulebook states: “The league shall not authorize any club or player to wear, display or otherwise convey any message by means of helmet decals, armbands, jersey patches, mouthpieces or or other items attached to playing uniforms or equipment that relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns.”

NICK BOSS’S MAGIC HAT APPEARANCE WAS NOT INITIALLY OFF SNF SOCIAL MEDIA, CLIP POSTED AFTER FAN FUROR

In another passage, Trotter said he “would have had more respect” for Bosa if the quarterback had been more vocal about his beliefs after the game.

“As for God, I would respect him more if he stood 10 fingers down in his beliefs. During the post-match meeting with the media, he literally switched hats and refused to discuss his demonstration,” Trotter wrote.

Still, the column acknowledged that Bosa is entitled to his beliefs.

Fox News Digital reached out to The New York Times for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.

In a statement to The Athletic, provided by Awful Announcing, it said: “New York Times standards played no role in this process. The story went through the usual editing process at The Athletic. We do not publicly discuss our editorial decisions.”

Bosa’s MAGA hat incident has been the subject of much debate since his team’s win over the Cowboys on Sunday night. The stunt is also believed to have been censored by NBC, the network responsible for broadcasting the game.

Witnesses say they saw an edited version of the postgame interview on NBC’s social media where Bosa was removed from the clip. However, the unedited version, which includes Bosa, is the most recent video released on NBC.

This wasn’t the first time Bosa has gone public with his support for Trump. He stated this in 2019 he cleaned his X report on Trump’s posts and criticism of Colin Kaepernick over concerns that the city of San Francisco may not fully embrace him if he is drafted by the 49ers.

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Bose was later asked about his decision to send a political message on the field Sunday night, but declined to elaborate.

“I’m not going to say much about it, but it’s an important time.” said Bosa at the post-match press conference.

Longtime sportscaster Bomani Jones urged Bosa to “speak up.”

Jones noted that Bosa made the decision to demonstrate his support for a political candidate in a public forum.

“Someone asked him about it in the press conference after the game. I mean, he came out in favor of Trump. What do you mean you won’t talk about it much partner? You made that phone call, you made that. You brought us here. You’ve decided you want to go public with it, and that’s an important moment,” Jones said on the latest edition of “It Takes Time with Bomani Jones.”

“Now I have to ask the question, why is this an important time? Because I don’t know this dude.”

Former Chicago Bears player Brian Urlacher expressed his support for Boza. He was commenting on Bosa’s Instagram post in which the 49ers quarterback posted photos, including one of him showing off a Trump-supporting cap.

“MAGA,” Urlacher wrote in the comments section along with two American flags.

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