NFL Star Baker Mayfield Insists on Greeting Every Last Soldier, Even After Team Tells Him Event Is Over
To say that Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is no stranger to controversy would be a massive understatement.
Whether he’s feuding with television hosts, teammates or even entire fan bases, any time Mayfield is in a headline, you can almost feel the tension emanating from the Browns front office.
Mayfield, after all, is a young man expected to be a franchise-saving quarterback, despite not being cut from the same type of cloth of players such as Drew Brees or Tom Brady as far as behavior is concerned.
Unlike the more subdued and demur Brees and Brady, Mayfield is brash, outspoken and unafraid to go completely off-script from time to time.
This time, however, Mayfield’s refusal to follow all the rules actually led to a heartwarming and awesome moment for a group of soldiers.
As Cleveland.com reporter Hayden Grove revealed on Twitter, Mayfield refused to leave the field Tuesday despite team officials telling him that the soldiers’ autograph session was supposed to be over.
In fact, Mayfield insisted on meeting each and every last soldier who had come out to meet the Browns star.
Baker Mayfield was called off the field by the team when autographs were supposed to be over. He refused and signed and took selfies with every soldier remaining on the field. #Browns pic.twitter.com/gY8zm525yK
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) August 6, 2019
Mayfield stuck around past when he was supposed to, and whether team officials liked it or not, the 24-year-old quarterback stuck around to sign shirts, footballs and take selfies.
As of Sunday morning, the video had over 41,000 likes and was still climbing. The overwhelming response to the video has been incredibly positive.
Simple acts of kindness turn men into heroes and heroes into legends
— gutcheck5484 (@gutcheck5484) August 8, 2019
A Twitter user who appears to be one of the soldiers in attendance at the event also expressed gratitude.
Thanks @bakermayfield! We all appreciated you taking the time. And thanks @Browns for having us out today. pic.twitter.com/7CdX9zF8xD
— Justin Waynick (@JustinWaynick) August 6, 2019
Mayfield and the Browns are entering the 2019-2020 NFL season dealing with something the franchise hasn’t had in quite a while — expectations.
The team finished last season at 7-8-1 and missed the playoffs, but there was plenty to be excited for.
The Browns won five of their last seven games, played an exciting and uptempo brand of football, and, most importantly of all, appear to have found their superstar quarterback in Mayfield. On top of that, some real defensive stars appeared to emerge in players like Denzel Ward and Myles Garrett.
Throw in the offseason acquisition of the mercurial, but supremely talented, Odell Beckham Jr., and the Browns are brimming with as much, if not more, young talent than any other team in the NFL.
The excitement became all the more palpable after the Browns’ stellar preseason debut Thursday where they blasted the Washington Redskins 30-10.
Mayfield looked sharp in his only drive of the game, going 5-of-6 for 77 yards and a touchdown.
But he looked even sharper taking some extra time with those soldiers.
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