"Didn’t know Adam Schefter was running the ABC twitter account" - NFL fans slam news outlet for terrible headline about late Marion Barber

Former Cowboys RB Marion Barber passed away on Wednesday | Image Credit: NBC News
Former Cowboys RB Marion Barber passed away on Wednesday | Image Credit: NBC News

On Wednesday, news broke that former Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber III was found dead in his apartment. He was 38.

Tributes poured in for Barber on social media as NFL fans expressed their sorrow and shock over the sudden demise of the former Cowboys star. Amidst the outpouring of love for Barber, an ill-advised tweet from ABC News' Twitter account faced the wrath of NFL fans.

NFL fans lambast ABC News' terribly worded tweet about Barber

The news outlet reported Marion Barber's sudden demise in a tweet with a caption reading:

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"JUST IN: Marion Barber III, the former Dallas Cowboys running back who scored plenty of touchdowns without recording a 1,000-yard season, has died, the team said Wednesday. He was 38."

NFL fans were understandably upset about the caption. Most complained that reporting that Barber had never exceeded the 1000-yard mark in a season in a tweet announcing his untimely demise was unnecessary and highly disrespectful.

One fan even described the tweet as "tasteless":

WARNING: NSFW Language

One fan replied that ABC News was insane to post the tweet:

Las Vegas Raiders fan and NFL analyst Kenny King Jr. had some advice on how to write captions for tweets announcing someone's demise:

Another fan asked ABC to delete the tweet:

NFL Rhodes Show host Lindsay Rhodes also dished out some advice on how to announce "awful news":

NFL fans compare ABC's Marion Barber tweet to Adam Schefter's Dwayne Haskins tweet

Fans also pointed out the similarities between ABC's tweet and Adam Schefter's deleted tweet about Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who passed away in a tragic car accident in April.

In the since-deleted tweet, Schefter wrote:

"Dwayne Haskins, a standout at Ohio State before struggling to catch on with Washington and Pittsburgh in the NFL, died this morning when he got hit by a car in South Florida, per his agent Cedric Saunders. Haskins would have turned 25 years old on May 3."

Fans and players blasted Schefter for his tweet, and the NFL insider apologized for the mishap.

Fans quickly pointed out that ABC's tweet about Barber was similar to Schefter's about Haskins:

One Twitter user even asked if it was the ESPN insider who was responsible for ABC's headline:

The tweet has been quote retweeted close to over 850 times and is yet to be taken down as of the time of writing.

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Edited by Jay Lokegaonkar
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