Caleb Williams‘ entrance at the USC women’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament game on Monday night sparked a commotion among football fans.
After all, it’s one thing to paint your nails to send a message to an opponent on the field. It’s another thing, apparently, to wear lipstick and have the nerve to wield a pink phone.
Caleb Williams watching USC – Kansas pic.twitter.com/9dVzyp7d7B
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) March 26, 2024
As a result, the reaction to Williams’ presence was overwhelmingly negative, with the majority of it being thinly veiled homophobia.
Kyle Brandt responded to the comments on Thursday’s broadcast of Good Morning Football, going on a vintage rant while defending the likely No. 1 choice in the 2024 NFL Draft from criticism from what he referred to as “caveman Twitter.”
Thoughts on Caleb Williams… pic.twitter.com/mOXFN5qek1
— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) March 28, 2024
Kyle Brandt’s take on whole Caleb Williams Nails uproar
Brandt went on to deny the argument that Williams is “too Hollywood” for the NFL, pointing out that 22-year-olds in Los Angeles make plenty of daring fashion choices, including his own past obsession with Affliction brand t-shirts and True Religion pants. He also responded to allegations that Williams’ demeanor would clash with the “macho” culture of Chicago, which famously welcomed a dress-wearing power forward named Dennis Rodman.
He said,
“Take No. 1, I’ve seen this: ‘That’s not a leader of me!’ You are a follower of sheep, let me say that,” “The most important qualities in a leader are being confident, being secure with yourselves, being bold and having everyone you’re leading want to follow you. Find any teammate Caleb has had across two major programs say one bad thing about Caleb, let alone that he’s weird or eccentric. “Next take, I love this one: ‘That’s not going to work in the locker room,’” “Those are the words of the most basic bad radio caller to a terrible radio show in 1992. ‘That’s not going to work in the locker room?’ What the hell do you know? Do you know D.J. Moore? Do you know Cole Kmet? Do you know Darnell Wright? Do you know that the personalities and perspectives in this league have evolved dramatically? Do you know the head coach of the 2024 Bear is not Bill Parcells? This is a different time.”
“Maybe Caleb’s personality is a little unusual. You know what would be incredibly unusual? A Bears quarterback that wins a game anybody cares about,” “Try to remember the last time you had a rock star quarterback, you won a Super Bowl.
“It’s good that this quarterback is different. Because what’s never different is the result every single time you’ve played the Packers. And I’ll tell you what’s weird: You know what’s the weirdest thing about Caleb? That he’s going to be a Bears quarterback who’s actually good… he’s going to be the No. 1 pick. And when the pride and joy of Illinois, the Chicago Bears, call him to let him know on draft night, I hope he takes the call on his pink phone.”