Wow, what the hell just happened at the University of Florida?
If you didn’t hear the news, the Florida Gators canned fifth-year junior linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. from the football team Oct. 31 for “more of a cumulative effect,” according to WPTV. The news was first reported by On3’s Zach Abolverdi.
BREAKING: Brenton Cox Jr. has been dismissed from the #Gators. https://t.co/heoYZm1lEq | @GatorsOnline pic.twitter.com/XufsKCoGjY
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) October 31, 2022
“Brenton is in his third year here, obviously he has done a lot of good things for the University of Florida, and we wish him nothing but the best. Sometimes, you have to make decisions that are in the best interest of the team,” Gators Head Coach Billy Napier said during the press conference.
Just a typical day at the offices of the University of Florida (UF), which has dealt with drama and legal problems in the past.
Well, with the exception of Tim Tebow.
But what made this incident fun was what happened at the press conference before Napier showed up to address the Cox situation.
Sounds like AP Reporter Mark Long was caught on a hot mic at the Florida presser today saying: “I don’t give a fuck, I’ll be here longer than Billy Napier. I can guarantee that.”
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) October 31, 2022
As you saw and heard in the video, that was Mark Long from the Associated Press talking about how he doesn’t “give a fuck,” followed by him guaranteeing he’ll “be here longer than Billy Napier.”
Oh, it doesn’t stop there.
If Long’s episode wasn’t humorous enough, you also had Trey Dean III — a safety for the Gators — tweet out that everything surrounding Cox was fake news, just to delete it instantly. (RELATED: ‘Sickening’: Jim Harbaugh Addresses Tunnel Brawl After Game, Expects Criminal Charges)
“THIS IS FALSE,” posted an obviously confident, but wrong, Dean.
The big story: #Gators have dismissed Brenton Cox. Billy Napier called his dismissal “a healthy thing for the team.” Wow.
The undercard: Trey Dean tweets “THIS IS FALSE” in response to the news, quickly deletes it.
I do my best to unpack a crazy morning: https://t.co/bwLORw2T5Y
— InAllKindsOfWeather.com (@AllKindsWeather) October 31, 2022
Ahh.. the University of Florida.
Business as usual.