He cried. So what?
So what, Caleb Williams cried as Chicago Bears trainers took him off Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon.
In what ended up being Williams avoiding worst-case scenario, many around the sports world initially thought it looked like a season being over for both the quarterback and the Bears, altogether.
Alas, we received the good news. Williams is going to miss some time, but was able to escape serious damage.
Now, we're suddenly back to the crying part. Everybody's focused on how Williams handled the moments immediately following his injury. Screaming in pain, being carted off the field, throwing the "thumbs up" while tears visibly streamed down his face ... and people like Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy are leading the charge of distasteful and unwarranted criticism on Williams' manhood.
"The man tweaked his hammy and acted like both ACLs, MCLs and everything else [had been torn] ... he tweaked his hammy. What are we doing here?" Portnoy said after learning of the news.
Comment sections and social media are ablaze with disgusting Caleb Williams takes
This is just the tip of the iceberg. It gets way worse.
On one of his latest shows, Craig Carton -- yes, that guy -- had some choice words for Williams.
For the sake of professionalism -- one of the many basic human elements Carton is missing -- I won't divulge everything he said. Instead, if you would like, you can watch the segment for yourself.
Fair warning: Carton's words are dehumanizing for both men and women.
While Carton's reaction was to the extreme, there are still many others which are simply uncalled for, although not on the same level.
Will Compton of Bussin With the Boys took to social media with a similar reaction to the previously-mentioned Portnoy:
"Hold on a sec, we're getting carted off for hamstrings now? Now look, if it's Grade 3 and he tore that from the bone and needs surgery, that's a different animal ... but if this is Grade 1, Grade 2 ... we're getting carted off for hamstrings now? We're getting the ambulance and we're doing all the theatrics ... for hamstrings now?"
These reactions are only a fraction of what's hit the rest of social media and internet comment sections. However, it's people like Portnoy, Carton and Compton, in positions they hold, who open the floodgates for everyone else to jump in and pile on Williams.
Look, say what you want about how he reacted. Make all the jokes, toss out all of the memes ... I get it. I can handle the memes. Some of them are pretty hilarious. I have a sense of humor. I'm not a robot.
But, when the criticism starts getting personal, that's where I draw the line. When these floodgates are opened by people in power -- who may also be criticized, themselves, for holding certain standards (or lack thereof) within their own lives and businesses -- there is no telling what type of ugliness will start to reveal itself.
Portnoy, Compton, Carton and some other known sports media pundits have opened the doors for the types of individuals most upstanding Americans cannot stand to be around, and much of the criticism is uncalled for.
When it starts to get personal and you're criticizing a man for showing emotion or reacting in a certain way, that's where things can get way out of hand.
So what, he cried?
So what, he took the cart to the locker room?
In that moment, he could have felt something that felt far more serious than it ended up being. He might have thought worst-case scenario, just like the rest of us. His season could have flashed before his eyes.
Or, maybe ... God forbid, it was just the game itself.
Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't finish the game; finish a drive that looked as though the Bears were going to finally go up on the Minnesota Vikings after a nasty, physical, weather-hampered battle that afternoon.
Maybe it was the competitive fire within that caused his emotional reaction.
He doesn't have to explain it. His competitive fire, his emotions, his thoughts and impulses are all unique.
But, let's get back to the criticism on his emotional reaction; the crying, the long face.
Excuse me, but what in God's name is wrong with that?
Caleb Williams' injury situation should help celebrate the real men in America
I kiss my children on the cheek and forehead, and I will until the day I die.
I get sad when they are sad. I show emotion and tenderness when they are hurt or sick.
I will dance and sing my heart out to a Nick Jonas song with my two young daughters.
I got as hyped as my youngest girl did over the brand-new, live-action Moana trailer when it first dropped.
When my boys come to me with something they feel strongly about, a problem, a question or a sincere ask, I'll get down on their level and invest my own emotions into the conversation and/or issue at hand.
My boys will know it's not only safe to show emotion as a man, but it should be applauded.
I kiss my grandmother on the cheek to this day and tell her I love her. I call her and my grandfather weekly and tell them I love them over and over again.
You know those stories on ESPN that started long ago, about people (and often children) who suffer from some type of tragedy or disease? The videos which tug at your heart strings and are often the ones they ended episods of Sportscenter with?
I'm a mess after every single one.
Shoot, the video the official Bears social media account put out just a few days ago with a young cancer survivor ringing a bell and breaking down the team, taking photos with Caleb Williams and company, while the rest of the entire roster cheers as though they just won the Super Bowl?
That video had me in emotional shambles.
I don't say any of this to brag or boast. I don't say any of this to lift myself up. We can have the conversation about all of us having our own faults and falling short on a daily basis.
I do say this, however, to point out to every young person in this country the fact that many of us seem to have a twisted view of what a man is.
If you're not out there fixing things around the house, knowing your way inside and outside of a car and all of its mechanics, playing golf with your boys on the weekends and ... holding the majority of your emotions to yourself, then a good portion of society will tell you:
"You're not a real man."
On behalf of Caleb Williams, who has been criticized for years for showing emotion and bucking the trends of what a man looks and acts like, I'm here to fire back.
I'm here to fire back at the likes of enablers of this kind of nasty behavior which opens the doors to worse criticism than we could ever imagine. Social media and comment sections are already cesspools.
We don't need people with a platform to further contaminate what's already been contaminated.
We need people to stand up and cheer for men like Williams.
If you are one who is criticizing Caleb Williams, as it's already been said by many, that's on you.
That's a "you problem."
If you're criticizing Caleb Williams it's because you're already somebody who has been cheering for his downfall. You're already someone who wasn't a believer in the first place.
You hate his painted nails.
You hate him crying with his mom on the sidelines after a game.
You hate his fashion choices.
You hate that he drinks matcha.
YOU.
Read more: Gervon Dexter is making Ryan Poles look the fool early on with Falcons
It's about time we start looking in the mirror.
You are the problem.
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