Falcons defensive end Takkarist McKinley may not have been the first player selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, but he may be leading the way in wise decisions.
McKinley saved himself years of unnecessary frustrations -- and messages from anonymous Twitter eggs criticizing his get off at the line of scrimmage -- by deleting all of his social media accounts.
"It was becoming a distraction for me," McKinley said, via ESPN.com. "It was something that had to go."
It wasn't exactly a decision crafted out of thin air. According to Falcons beat writer Vaughn McClure, it seems like there was a moment that pushed McKinley over the edge:
"On Sunday night," McClure wrote, "(McKinley) posted a shirtless video of himself celebrating UCLA's 45-44 come-from-behind victory over Texas A&M, where quarterback Josh Rosen led the Bruins to a 34-point comeback. McKinley said 'look at that nose' when a picture of Rosen appeared on the screen, then touted his former teammate as next year's No. 1 overall draft pick."
Regardless of how it happened, it happened at the right time.
Having athletes on social media can create incredible opportunities for players and fans to connect like never before. Texans defensive end J.J. Watt started his now monumental Houston recovery campaign with a post. But it also invites in the kind of mind-numbing, consequence-free commentary from armchair quarterbacks and other dubious characters of the internet darkworld that can drive even the most mentally stable of us mad. McKinley didn't cite such commenters in his reasoning, but now he never needs to worry about it anyway.
Now, if anyone has anything negative to say about the Falcons rookie, they'll have to do it to his face. Anyone lining up for that?
