Last July, when Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was gearing up for arguably one of the NFL’s greatest rebound seasons after a torn ACL, he made an eyebrow-raising decision.
In an era when social media has become an integral part of the branding of an NFL star, he was leaving the platforms behind. Not only that, but deleting cornerstone apps from his phone altogether during training camp.
“Just too many distractions,” he said.
It was an interesting moment, but also worth some skepticism. Athletes leave social media both publicly and privately every season.