Ryan Leaf may have won every single NFL fan over with his response to an online troll Tuesday.
The former No. 2 overall pick of the then-San Diego Chargers went toe-to-toe with a New York Jets fan who tweeted they were in disbelief that their favorite team “picked Mormon Ryan Leaf” in an apparent dig at Zach Wilson, who has received criticism for his play against the New England Patriots.
Wilson attended BYU and is a baptized member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Leaf replied to the fan, “Yes you can, you’re the Jets. It’s what you do.”
The Twitter user told Leaf to “shut the f— up” and that Leaf was “worse then (sic) a Mormon that can’t throw a ball straight.” Leaf then savaged him.
“I’ve had a better life than (sic) Jets fans the last decade and I spent 3 of those years in prison, respectfully of course,” Leaf wrote.
I’ve had a better life then Jets fans the last decade and I spent 3 of those years in prison, respectfully of course.
— Ryan D Leaf (@RyanDLeaf) November 22, 2022
The interaction went viral over Twitter.
Leaf went from being one of the top picks of the NFL Draft to being a bust after failing to perform well enough to stay on a team. He was in the same draft class as Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, Hines Ward and Charles Woodson.
After he was released from prison in 2014, Leaf got his life back on track and has since taken the steps to get into broadcasting. The former quarterback, who earned a broadcast journalism degree from the Murrow School at Washington State, shadowed ESPN’s Greg McElroy for one game last season, and it led to an ESPN audition in March 2019.
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