Doug Gottlieb isn’t backing down after awful tweet slamming Andrew Luck’s retirement decision
Doug Gottlieb isn’t backing down after his awful tweet about Andrew Luck’s retirement — one that sent the internet into a frenzy and drew an insane amount of backlash from some of the biggest names in the sports world.
Shortly after Luck announced his surprise retirement on Saturday — which he said was the best move for him after being stuck in a cycle of injuries and rehab for years — Gottlieb fired off a tweet slamming Luck and millennials in general for being soft.
Retiring cause rehabbing is “too hard” is the most millennial thing ever #AndrewLuck
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) August 25, 2019
Almost instantly, thousands of people slammed Gottlieb for his take. Even fellow Fox Sports employee and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman got in on the action, calling Gottlieb’s tweet “total bulls--t.”
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But on his radio show on Monday, Gottlieb stood by his tweet — and continued to complain about millennials in a long-winded rant that lasted nearly five minutes.
Addressing my Andrew Luck Tweet From Saturday night:
pic.twitter.com/g9CiaDicdL— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) August 26, 2019
“While it was snarkasm and sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek, the fact is that I think we can also admit this is kind of part of the millennial generation or the new generation in sports,” Gottlieb said. “No, [Luck is] not a typical millennial. He doesn't have a perfectly coiffed beard, nor does he go tight on the sides. He doesn’t roll up his pants. He’s not a hipster.
“But there are characteristics of millennials that people are latching on to, and me making fun of those characteristics of millennials — which are real, legit things — is I think what brought a lot of this backlash.”
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The former Notre Dame and Oklahoma State basketball player did take exception to the hoards of people — including Carolina Panthers wide receiver Torrey Smith — who brought up Gottlieb’s arrest in 1996 for stealing credit cards.
You stole credit cards because working was “too hard” https://t.co/SoLAVUwo3h
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) August 25, 2019
Those questions, he said, have been asked and answered.
“I understand if you don’t like me, or like my tweet, or you think that I’m characterizing somebody as something they’re not. That’s fine,” Gottlieb said. “But I’m only going to point out that to people like Torrey Smith — who I don’t have a bone to pick with — to others in the media or in sports, if you want to go to me stealing credit cards 23 years ago, you’re going to have to deal with the fact that those questions have been asked, that has been answered, we’ve all moved on.”
Maybe Gottlieb really hates millennials. Maybe he’s just on this kick for clicks and views. Maybe it’s both.
Regardless, you aren’t going to hear the 43-year-old apologizing anytime soon.
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