Okay, so let’s talk about the internet, shall we? Because honestly, sometimes it feels like we’re all just sitting around, waiting for some tiny, insignificant moment to blow up into a full-blown scandal. And then, like clockwork, we all pile on. And then, also like clockwork, someone who actually knows what they’re talking about comes along and says, “Uh, guys? You kinda got that wrong.”

The Great Post-Game “Snub” That Wasn’t

That’s pretty much what happened with Laura Rutledge and Sam Darnold this past weekend. You know Laura, right? ESPN, crushing it on college football Saturdays and then somehow still managing to be everywhere for the NFL on Sundays. The woman is a machine. A really, really good machine. And Sam Darnold, the 49ers backup QB, who was, let’s be real, probably still buzzing (or totally deflated) after a pretty intense game. His team, the 49ers, had just lost 13-3 to the Seahawks. A loss that saw Seattle clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC. So, yeah, emotions were probably a little… high. Or low, depending on which locker room you were in.

Anyway, someone on X (which, let’s just call it Twitter, because that’s what it is, right?) posted a clip. And in this clip, it looked like Darnold just kind of… walked past Rutledge. Like he brushed her off. Ignored her. Didn’t want to talk. And just like that, the outrage machine started whirring. People were calling Darnold rude, disrespectful, unprofessional. You name it, someone was tweeting it.

I mean, look, I saw the clip. And yeah, in isolation, if you didn’t know anything else, you might think, “Huh, that’s a bit cold.” But here’s the thing about live TV, and especially live post-game TV when adrenaline is pumping and everyone’s either celebrating like maniacs or trying to disappear into a locker? It’s messy. Really, really messy. Players are getting pulled in a million directions. Sometimes they’re just not paying attention. Sometimes they’re so in their own head, good or bad, they literally don’t hear you.

Why We Jump, Every Single Time

What’s interesting here is how quickly we, as an audience, jump to the most dramatic conclusion. It’s never “maybe he didn’t see her” or “maybe he had to be somewhere else instantly” or “maybe he was just utterly bummed out after a tough loss and trying to hold it together.” Nope. It’s always, “He’s a jerk! How dare he!” And then everyone piles on, because, well, that’s what we do on the internet, isn’t it? We find a perceived villain and we make them pay. With angry emojis. And capital letters. It’s wild. Seriously.

But wait, there’s more. Because Laura Rutledge, the actual human being involved in this non-drama, had a second to breathe from her literally running-around-all-weekend schedule (I’m not kidding, she was everywhere) and decided to set the record straight. She went to X (of course) and clarified that everything was cool. She said she did eventually talk to Darnold. That he’s a good guy. That it was no biggie. Basically, she pulled the rug out from under all the angry keyboard warriors who had already sharpened their pitchforks.

So, What’s the Big Deal, Actually?

The big deal, if you ask me, isn’t Sam Darnold. Or Laura Rutledge. The big deal is our collective inability to pause for a second, take a deep breath, and maybe, just maybe, wait for all the facts. Or, you know, just assume that not every interaction on live television is a calculated slight. I mean, we’re talking about a guy who just played in an NFL game. His team lost. He’s probably got a thousand things running through his head. And the reporter? She’s a consummate professional who understands the chaos of a post-game environment better than anyone.

“It’s like everyone forgets that these are actual human beings out there. Athletes aren’t robots, and neither are reporters. Stuff happens. Life happens. And the camera just catches a fraction of it, usually without context.”

Remember that whole thing with Joe Buck having a black eye while broadcasting the Seahawks-49ers game? (Yeah, that was in the same article that mentioned this Rutledge-Darnold thing, weirdly enough.) That was another moment where the internet went wild with speculation. And it turned out to be something totally benign. But we love the drama. We eat it up. It’s like we’re addicted to finding fault, to outrage, to having something to be mad about. It’s exhausting, if I’m being honest. Really, truly exhausting.

What This Actually Means

What this whole episode really, truly means is that we, as consumers of sports and media, need to chill out. A lot. It means we need to remember that the people we see on our screens – both the athletes and the broadcasters – are human. They make mistakes. They have bad days. They’re sometimes distracted. They’re not always perfectly composed or articulate or even aware of every single camera angle pointed at them.

And it also means that folks like Laura Rutledge, who handle these crazy situations with grace and professionalism, are the real MVPs. She didn’t let the internet narrative dictate her reality. She didn’t throw Darnold under the bus. She just calmly explained what happened, and in doing so, she basically said, “Hey, everyone, maybe calm down a bit?”

So, the next time you see a tiny clip of something that looks like a slight or a snub or some kind of drama? Maybe just hold off on the instant judgment. Maybe wait for the actual story. Because chances are, it’s probably not nearly as dramatic as you’re making it out to be. And sometimes, it’s just a guy walking past a reporter. A good guy, even. That’s it. Nothing to see here. Move along, folks. Move. Along.