'Hack' blamed for Instagram post that briefly upended the NFL world
When the verified Instagram account of New England Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo appeared to bid the Boston area farewell early Friday, it was a major piece of NFL news.
Except that it apparently wasn't news at all.
In the wee hours of Friday morning, Garoppolo's Instagram account posted a photo of him celebrating with the Super Bowl trophy, alongside this caption:
“So grateful for my time in New England. Peace out Boston✌🏻"
Garoppolo has been Tom Brady's backup in New England for three seasons. He's seen as a starter-level player but the Patriots still have Brady, so many NFL fans have speculated that New England could try to trade Garoppolo for a haul of draft picks this off-season. That's why his supposed farewell tweet was such a big deal ...
... except ...
There's this, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
And there's this, via Patriots beat reporter Doug Kyed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
The post was deleted from Garoppolo's Instagram profile shortly after it appeared.
"Jimmy's social media account was hacked," agent Don Yee later told ESPN.
But all was not lost! The would-be bit of big news, the early hour at which it broke and the fact that Garoppolo was apparently hacked did lead to some solid Twitter jokes.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
So breathe deep, Patriots fans. It appears you can rest easy -- at least for now.
Sam Laird is Mashable's Senior Sports Reporter. He covers the wide, weird world of sports from all angles -- as well as occasional other topics -- from Mashable's San Francisco bureau. Before joining Mashable in November 2011, his freelance work appeared in publications including the New York Times, New York Times Magazine, Slam, and East Bay Express. Sam is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz, and basketball and burritos take up most of his spare time. Follow him on Twitter @samcmlaird.
