I wasn’t asleep, says Carolina Panther accused of nodding off on the sideline

Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Kyle Love went on Instagram to refute claims that he fell asleep on the sidelines during last Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“If you think I was asleep, then you too are gullible,” Love said in Tuesday’s post.

In a separate post, Love wrote: “Can’t even believe people! Believe none of what you hear and some of what you see!”

Bleacher Report and other sports news sites raised the question of whether Love dozed off on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of his team’s 52-21 trouncing, “based on a video clip widely shared on Twitter, YouTube and the Carolina Panthers fans Facebook page,” The Charlotte Observer reported in an article published the morning after the game.

ESPN highlighted the video on its “C’mon Man!” show before its broadcast of the New York Giants-San Francisco 49ers Monday Night Football game this week, former Charlotte Observer Carolina Panthers reporter Joe Person tweeted.

In an article Tuesday, ESPN quoted Panthers’ defensive end Kawann Short as saying of Love, “He’s actually pretty pissed, ‘cause he wasn’t asleep.”

On Instagram, Love launched his defense in reply to a devoted fan with the Instagram handle “panthernation.”

The fan messaged Love: “I don’t believe u fell asleep, I was watching the entire game. I was just wondering if this post was referring to the idiots who believe it man.”

Love attached to his Instagram posts this saying in large white letters with a black backdrop: “People will believe anything about you as long as it’s negative, but anything positive getting questioned.”

This story was originally published November 14, 2018 at 5:49 PM.