Brandon Aiyuk is back at it on social media, and this time the target is the NFLPA.
The soon-to-be-former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver posted again, suggesting the union was going to “start a smear campaign” against him and damage his brand. At the bottom of the image, there was a response that read, “True story.”
Aiyuk’s latest shot adds another layer to a situation that has already gone well past normal offseason noise. But based on what has actually been reported, there hasn’t been any public move from the 49ers or the NFLPA that fits the idea of a campaign to defame him.
San Francisco’s stance has been straightforward: the team said Aiyuk stopped communicating, and that he would not be on the team. The NFLPA, meanwhile, has not said anything.
That leaves Aiyuk as the most visible voice in the whole mess, and his social media activity has become part of the story whether he wants it to or not. The reaction around it has been that, fair or not, it has not helped his image.
This also wasn’t the first time he has taken a swipe at the NFLPA. The last time he directed his attention toward the players’ union was in late June.
The NFLPA, of course, is the players’ union, the group that stands between players and the league on a range of issues. When discipline comes down, the union pushes back. When a player gets hit with a suspension, the NFLPA works to reduce it and makes life difficult for everyone on the other side.
Now Aiyuk is taking aim at that group, too. In a situation already tangled up with guarantees being voided and contracts being tabled, that may have been one of the few places he could have expected support. His agent is also not in the picture after Aiyuk said he fired them, though that is not official.
The 49ers, for their part, have no reason to move on from him until they absolutely have to. And Aiyuk has already made Stefon Diggs look like a better option in Washington or elsewhere for free agency.
At this point, it’s hard to say where the bottom is. It might not even be close.
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