Micah Parsons made headlines consistently throughout the season for his ferocious style of getting after the quarterback. With the season being over, he has no intent of leaving the spotlight.
At least that’s what’s indicated by Parsons’ recent Twitter activity.
Other stars of the Dallas Cowboys have all but removed themselves entirely from social media. Take Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, for instance. Their Twitter and Instagram accounts are basically a showcase for their endorsements.
You’d be hard pressed to find a post from them that they weren’t paid to publish. They each have tens of thousands of TikTok followers with only one video between the two of them. [Insert laughing emoji]
Micah Parsons, on the other hand, seems to have embraced electronic interaction with the sports world. He speaks on everything from NFL officiating, to the Dallas Cowboys’ performance, to the unjust rationing of lemonade by fast food chains.
The Controversial Tweets of Micah Parsons
Anyone who follows Micah Parsons on Twitter has learned a lot about him. He enjoys gaming. Fame is pushing him towards social anxiety. He has a foot fetish.
But there’s another, uglier, side to the openness he displays on social media. For example, the back and forth between Parsons and Bucs running back Leonard Fournette introduced many Cowboys fans to a side of Micah Parsons they didn’t see during his first season with the team.
He also made some tweets about formerly detained Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner for which he was ultimately forced to apologize.
Naturally, and especially during this time of year, media outlets have been all over Micah Parsons’ Twitter page like piranhas on a guppy. The Lion has reached that phase of stardom where just about anything he says can become a headline.
Is Micah Parsons putting undue pressure on the Dallas Cowboys?
This would all be well and good except that during the off season so far, a lot of Parsons-generated headlines are calling into question the competitive legitimacy of the Dallas Cowboys and Parsons’ respect for quarterback Dak Prescott.
In late January, Micah Parsons tweeted about the quarterbacks of successful teams being surrounded by talent. This lead to Twitter replies, articles, and sports TV debates about whether he was suggesting that Dak Prescott was overpaid.
He later clarified that he did not pen that tweet in order to subtly criticize Dak Prescott. However, he never did expound on what it was that he found interesting in the video he shared.
A few weeks later, Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell tweeted that he wanted to play in Super Bowl 58. Micah Parsons told him that he’d need to put a star on his helmet for that to happen.
This drew attention to the Cowboys once again with debates about whether a player should make such “bold predictions” at such an early stage. There were also conversations about whether or not this perceived attempt to recruit Campbell was a sign of the Cowboys’ desperation.
Then there was this past Wednesday when a tweet about the 2023 salary cap hits of NFL quarterbacks led some to wonder whether or not Micah Parsons was again questioning whether or not Dak Prescott was worth his paycheck.
And on Thursday, another tweet led to discussions of the whether or not the Cowboys could improve their post season performance. This time, at least, the conversation was a bit more jovial.
Is Micah Parsons Being Harmful or Helpful?
The Cowboys have to deal with coaching changes, numerous free agents, and possible deal restructures for star players with Dak Prescott being key among them. So, with Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys consistently being called into question, one must wonder if Micah Parsons should give Twitter a rest for bit. Perhaps this isn’t the best time to bring additional attention to America’s Team.
To answer the question posed in the title of this post – no. Micah Parsons does not need to change a thing.
Here are the facts of the matter:
- The Dallas Cowboys are constantly discussed and criticized regardless of what any member of the team or organization says or does.
- Sports media members often turn their attention towards whatever is deemed the most entertaining current topic.
- If the media weren’t discussing Parsons’ tweets, they’d probably be paying even more attention to the actual goings on of the organization as opposed to a few statements that Parsons himself probably doesn’t take all that seriously.
It can be frustrating to watch the talking heads use Micah Parsons’ tweets as fodder for their narratives about the Cowboys. That should not be an indictment on Parsons, however.
I believe him when he says he never meant to criticize Dak via tweet. Just a few days before the tweet about successful quarterbacks was posted, Micah actually tweeted about how happy he was to have Dak Prescott as a quarterback. That one didn’t make as many headlines for some reason, though. [Insert fingernail painting emoji.]
Micah is a competitor. The statements he makes in interviews suggest that he operates with a champion mindset. So when he says, “Man at some point it’s not about money no more!! It’s about winning!!” I believe that to be more of an expression of frustration at the topic of salary caps than a dig at his team’s star quarterback.
Where’s the lie?
Besides, where is the lie? Has he said anything that’s false or truly offensive at face value? Do we want our star players to go into the off season NOT believing they can reach the Super Bowl next year? If the answer is no, why does it bother people for him to express this out loud?
Parsons comes off as fearless and mostly carefree. This means that a lot of things others would be afraid to say or share, he can share without much of a second thought.
Some of us might feel like we can’t say certain things or we have to find a subtle way to say them without saying them. I simply do not believe Micah Parsons has that problem.
View his tweets for what they are – entertainment. You can even debate his takes if you like. Ultimately, the critics will criticize, haters will hate, and decision makers will shape the future of the Cowboys regardless of what he Parsons on social media.
But I can’t get too mad tat the media. It can be tough to find interesting NFL stories during this lull between the Super Bowl and the NFL Combine.
If I’m being honest, I peruse Micah Parsons’ tweets at times to meet my post quota, too. So when I see Micah’s name pop up on the morning segments of ESPN almost every other day as of late, I get it. [Thumbs up, wink emoji]