The NFL has been accused of many unflattering things over the years, but recently one former player has accused the league of something that would rock its foundation: scripted outcomes. Former NFL running back Arian Foster said the NFL is rigged, and players receive their “scripts” back of house in the locker room during training camp every year. Foster made the statement during the latest episode of Barstool Sports’ “Macrodosing” podcast.
“We were really dedicated to it,” said Foster. “So, it was more so like that’s what practice was about — it was about practicing the script. This is what goes on, this is what we have to do; WWF, so it’s like we know what’s going to happen. You still gotta put on a show,” the four-time Pro Bowl running back.
Former NFL player arian foster admits NFL is literaly rigged pic.twitter.com/RSfqF1OwKI
— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) January 31, 2023
The claim set off a tweetstorm of fans who are believers and fellow players that saw the humor in the claim and piggybacked with their examples of a scripted outcome.
Player Pile On
When they handed me the script for our season during camp I almost walked out the facility bra 😒😒😒😒 @ArianFoster
— Alvin Kamara (@A_kamara6) February 1, 2023
“When they handed me the script for our season during camp I almost walked out the facility bra @ArianFoster,” New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara tweeted with a salty face emoji.
Former Washington Commanders quarterback turned football analyst Robert Griffin III also gave his tongue-in-cheek response with a self-effacing twist.
Reading the End of the Script for 2012 https://t.co/DeuLz9ISnq pic.twitter.com/LP9waIx2pc
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) February 1, 2023
“Reading the End of the Script for 2012,” RGIII posted with a meme of Will Smith’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character crumbling to the floor. It was a nod to the injuries that saddled the quarterback after his stellar rookie season for the Commanders if he could have foreshadowed it.
Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Micah Parsons tweeted a cute dig at his team and their lackluster playoff results.
Smh I might show the script from playoffs!!
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) February 2, 2023
“Smh I might show the script from playoffs!!” Parsons tweeted, touching a sore spot for Cowboys nation.
Wrong Messenger
During an interview with ESPN the Magazine, Foster revealed he doesn’t believe in God.
PFT Commenter, the show’s host, brought up Foster’s sarcastic claim inferring that a script would literally be dropped off at his locker at the start of the season. Commenter even pivoted to “the script” being drafted for Foster’s career when it apparently “fell off a cliff” after he stopped believing in God.
Foster’s revelation is a massive no-no in professional football, especially in states like Texas, where Foster played most of his career; in the Longhorn State, God and football are the only things that matter.
“If there is a God and he’s watching football, there are so many other things he could be doing,” Foster said to ESPN The Magazine in 2015. “There are hungry children and diseases and famine and so much important stuff going on in the world, and he’s really blessed your team? It’s just weird to me.”
The Texans released Foster shortly after that in March 2016. He finished his Texans career with 6,472 yards and 54 rushing touchdowns, which were both franchise records.
Me, a Lion, after reading our 2008 script https://t.co/x1DtpVc3I8 pic.twitter.com/mgyDVPN3Wf
— FOST (@GeorgeFoster72) February 2, 2023
All Black Everything
With two Black quarterbacks in the Super Bowl, the script must have been made by Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation Sports entered into a long-term partnership with the National Football League as the league’s official Live Music Entertainment Strategists. They brought Rihanna as the halftime show and maybe made the pivot to an all-Black-everything Super Bowl for the culture?
The odds of that reality are not in their favor and fans can relax with one conspiracy theory debunked as a deadpan sarcasm turned viral distraction moment.
