CLE Myths: Baker Mayfield Handshake

Baker Mayfield thrives with a chip on his shoulder.

So when veteran San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman told NFL.com columnist Michael Silver in an Oct. 7 post-game press conference that the sophomore Cleveland quarterback had snubbed his pregame handshake, it wasn’t hard to believe.

“When you pull bush league stuff,” said Sherman, “that’s disrespectful to the game.”

The alleged incident spawned its own hashtag #Dapgate and made for top TV fodder the next morning. Uncharacteristically, Mayfield stayed quiet. But things didn’t check out.

Before noon on Oct. 8, 92.3 The Fan’s Daryl Ruiter posted a video on Twitter from the 49ers’ official Instagram account that raised doubts. Within the hour, ESPN’s Jake Trotter followed that up with two videos that blatantly showed Mayfield fist-bumping Sherman and, if anything, Sherman tossing a cold shoulder Mayfield’s way.

The outspoken defenseman was busted, apologizing Oct. 9 on The Pat McAfee Show.

“Sherman turned it into a complete fabrication,” says TheLandOnDemand.com beat writer Tony Grossi. “The guy who wrote the story, Mike Silver, is one of [former Browns head coach] Hue Jackson’s best friends in the media and has always held it against Baker for disrespecting Hue. I think they just concocted the story.”

Status: Busted

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