Just when we thought we were out of the Packers Super Bowl team picture controversy, the Packers pull us back in.
To review: Packers linebacker Nick Barnett said he was disappointed that, as a player on injured reserve, he wouldn’t be in the team photo. The Packers said, tough luck. Barnett kept complaining. Then the Packers reversed course and said injured players could be in the photo. Then Packers coach Mike McCarthy said everyone had overreacted to the whole story. Then Barnett said he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. Then Aaron Rodgers took a shot at Barnett by noting that he hadn’t stayed in Green Bay to rehab his injury with the team during the season.
And now Barnett has taken to Twitter to hit back at Rodgers.
“Well looks like people have something to say about where some people choose to do there rehab.. Try rehabing with 16 others then 53 more,” Barnett tweeted, referring to the 16 Packers on injured reserve and the 53 on the active roster. “Doubt you get the full attention needed.. It’s easy to speak about others when you are not in their position.. Talk about ‘union’ ha.”
Barnett later thought better of those tweets and deleted them, but as Matt Hasselbeck discovered this week, once you put something on Twitter there’s really no deleting it.
After deleting the tweets aimed at Rodgers, Barnett tried his best to put the toothpaste back in the tube with a series of conciliatory tweets.
“Forget it... Anyways god bless,” Barnett tweeted. “Goodbye twitter... It was fun while it lasted.. But we need to focus on important things.. Before I delete this page just wanted to say I was never trying to be a distration... I am packer have been one for 8 going on 9 years. I love this team this city.. All I wanted to be is included as a teammate nothing more.. Looks like it has back fired on me.. I guess. That was asking too much... Sorry if I offended anyone.. That was not my intention.. Never that.”
And with that, Barnett seems to be done tweeting. The Packers will now hope that what should have been a very minor story doesn’t devolve into sniping among teammates during Super Bowl week. And the union will hope that the inability of its members to refrain from ripping each other on Twitter won’t keep them from showing some unity as they negotiate with the owners during the looming labor battle.