The San Francisco 49ers summer was mostly quiet following minicamp, but things picked up in the final week before training camp. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was spotted out on a date with an adult movie star, and TMZ got a few days’ mileage out of the date. A date is usually just a date, but when you’re a quarterback who recently briefly had the biggest contract in NFL history, it’s more than just a date.
Garoppolo and head coach Kyle Shanahan were among the group who met with the media to open training camp on Wednesday. I don’t think anybody will be surprised to learn they both got questions about Jimmy’s now (in)famous date.
Shanahan joked initially when asked about who Garoppoli is seen with in public. He jokingly said, “I’ve never heard of any of those articles. What are you talking about?” He was asked if he needs to talk with Garoppolo about adjustments he needs to make in how he lives his life, or if it’s something where they have a trust in him to handle it on his own.
“No, you talk to people and Jimmy’s come from a place where he saw a lot of people handle that spotlight and everything. So, I think Jimmy does have an idea. I think everybody has an idea of how you should handle the spotlight. But, not everyone is in that spotlight. Never in my life have I commented on a player’s date in July, so I’m not going to start today because I don’t think it really pertains or matters to us. But, I do think that is a very good example. Even though you know, sometimes you have to learn how under the microscope we all are. It’s not just the quarterback. It’s all players. The quarterback definitely gets more than anyone else, but I think it’s a good learning experience for him and he’s got to know what comes with that stuff.”
Garoppolo acknowledged he is under a microscope now when asked what he learned from what went down in TMZ.
“Just that life is different now. My life off the field, I’ve never really been big on being very public with things. Even social media, I’m not out there a ton. But, my life is looked at differently and I’m under a microscope. It’s like Kyle said, it is a good learning experience. Just have to take it in stride. It is what it is.”
Garoppolo’s date is the big story, but it can apply as well to his comments about his confidence and competing with Tom Brady. Even when he says something that logically makes sense, it’s going to be blown into something bigger. His interviews are fairly straight forward without a lot of sizzle, and it seems like he has learned plenty from Brady about dealing with the media. That being said, I doubt this is the last time Garoppolo says or does something that is blown out of proportion.