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If Maurkice Pouncey's intention in wearing a hat out of support for college teammate Aaron Hernandez was to draw attention, he's more than successful Sunday.
Fans and readers took to Twitter in force, making #Pouncey trend, right alongside #Zimmerman, #Trayvon and #Glee.
"Free Hernandez" says Maurkice Pouncey's hat
Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey advertising something it seems very few people want.
One fan goes as far as to suggest Pouncey has been a problem since Day 1. It's unclear what he's referring to, or even what would qualify as a "problem," but he makes his point clear.
Maurkice Pouncey has been a problem since day one. Nobody should be surprised at his lack of maturity.
— jtkolaTM (@jtkola) July 14, 2013
Simply describing it as in poor taste:
@MaurkicePouncey Bad idea wearing that hat last night. Poor taste. Bad judgement on your part.
— Tom H. (@BigNastyDefense) July 14, 2013
One fan tells Pouncey he needs to act with some class.
@MaurkicePouncey show some class Maurkice...you represent the #steelers - time to grow up
— Bill Pintsak (@SteelerBill13) July 14, 2013
On the other hand, this brings up a fair question. How much should we really care what athletes say or what their opinion is on things unrelated to their jobs? It's not as if the opinions spouted off by several professional athletes ultimately matter, as one fan suggests.
I don't care about what Maurkice Pouncey says/does. He plays for a team I cheer for. That's all. He doesn't babysit my hypothetical kid
— Cory (@ThreeRiversBlog) July 14, 2013
ESPN's D.J. Gallo adds a knife to side of Steelers fans not wanting to deal with this whole issue, but has to draw a few laughs anyway.
Maurkice Pouncey's brain seems to be less solid than his ankles.
— DJ Gallo (@DJGalloESPN) July 14, 2013
Then there's the ever-present fan who only reads Tweets to get information, and ultimately, misconstrues what happens, and adds his own detail.
The Pounceys can wear a t-shirt saying Free whoever they want to be free id only have a problem if someone listened to them THEY WON'T !
— ✨HARMONY✨ (@timmbrownn) July 14, 2013
It wasn't a T-shirt, sir, they were wearing hats. Point being, mark another in the category of "I don't care what he says about it."