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An interaction with a Baltimore Ravens fan nearly turned physical for CBS's NFL Today crew following Sunday's AFC Championship game between the Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs.
On Monday, Boomer Esiason talked about the incident on his morning WFAN radio show. Esiason, Bill Cowher and Nate Burleson encountered a Ravens fan at the Baltimore train station waiting for their Amtrak back to New York, the show host said.
Esiason said most Ravens fans "couldn't have been any nicer" save for one "total a**wipe douchebag" who approached Esiason and Cowher when Burleson was in the restroom.
The interaction took a turn when the fan sat down across from Esiason and Cowher. He continued to talk to the two, telling them that the NFL is "rigged" while using "very colorful language." Esiason said he largely tried to ignore the fan, but Cowher decided to defend the league.
"Like, 'I don't want to hear this crap from some drunk-ass fan who just lost a bet,'" Esiason said about Cowher's reaction. "And I understand that, and Coach is a Hall of Famer, and he will die with that shield."
Esiason said he appealed to a Giants analytics worker sitting next to him to make sure the crew had done nothing to incite the anger of the fan (it hadn't), noting that he might have to get physical if the situation escalated at Cowher's expense. Both the analytics worker and Burleson, who had returned from the bathroom, defended Cowher before police arrived to remove the fan.
Conspiracy theories have long been a part of some Americans' discourse, and sports are no exception. Many NBA fans believe that Michael Jordan's first retirement was secretly a suspension for gambling and that David Stern froze an envelope in the 1985 draft to make sure the New York Knicks got Patrick Ewing.
After Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were caught spying on the New York Jets, the Boston Herald reported that the Patriots secretly taped the Rams before their Super Bowl matchup in 2008. (The Herald later retracted its report and apologized, saying that no tape of the walkthrough ever existed).
Americans believe conspiracy theories are on the rise, according to a 2022 study titled "Have beliefs in conspiracy theories increased over time?" and conducted by academic researchers. Published in the online journal PLOS One, the study showed little evidence to prove that theory.
Still, conspiracy theories can have consequences, even if they are demonstrably untrue. The 2022 study said, "Numerous studies find that conspiracy theory beliefs are positively associated with non-normative behaviors, including criminal acts."
The Ravens lost because their offense broke down against a dominant Kansas City Chiefs defense and because they committed several uncharacteristic and deeply costly penalties. But an angry fan at a train station would much rather believe the NFL world is out to get his favorite team.
The NFL Today crew nearly found that out the hard way. Conspiracy theories about the Super Bowl logo, for instance, can be funny when they are confined to social media speculation. But when fans genuinely believe that their team is the victim of a grand plan to—for instance—make sure Taylor Swift is present at the Super Bowl, things can escalate offline and create problems for everyone involved.
About the writer
Tom Westerholm is a Life & Trends Reporter for Newsweek based in Michigan. His work is focused on reporting on trending ... Read more