Wes Welker has learned a lesson well known to bloggers or fans of Twitter: Sarcasm doesn’t always translate in print.
Welker said he was joking when he told the Associated Press, “Let’s do a lockout every year.”
“I said that as a joke and yet they use it in the court of law,” Welker told WAAF, via Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com. “It was a little bit disappointing. It’s kind of discouraging they would actually use that in the court of law, and you have to see it everywhere and things like that.
“Shoot, I guess the gloves are off, and they’re going after everything,” Welker said, laughing. “You have to really watch what you say, whether you’re joking or not.”
As someone that uses sarcasm as the primary method to interact with other humans, I feel Welker’s pain. But the reality is that plenty of players do like the lockout, even if most are careful not to say it publicly.
Most, not all.
Lions receivers Nate Burleson and Calvin Johnson both admitted this week they are enjoying time away from the team. Welker, on the other hand, sounds like he’s getting frustrated.
“I’m a fan myself. Even looking at it [like that], it almost seems stupid. I know fans sit there and it’s billionaires and millionaires ... fighting over money; I don’t think the average fan wants to sit there and hear about that,” Welker said. “I know I don’t and I’m part of the situation.”