Is The Marquette King Photo-Op Simply Much Ado About Very Little?

Marquette King, known for his colorful personality and on-field antics, recently unleashed a firestorm of criticism over his photo-op with Aqib Talib of the Broncos – but is it really just much ado about nothing?

It’s pretty safe to say that Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King made the most of his Pro Bowl experience. No, he didn’t make the team, but he crashed the festivities anyway. And like he has done on the field for a couple of seasons now, he entertained the crowd with his – eccentricities – and general goofball antics.

But for many, King may have gone a little bit too far. It’s a sentiment that has resulted in a firestorm of criticism and has even led many – as ridiculous as it seems – to call for him to be cut from the team. And with the fire apparently still raging, the question has to be asked – is the King-Aqib Talib photo-op from the Pro Bowl actually just much ado about very little?

Obviously, the Aqib Talib-Michael Crabtree chain snatching incident is still a sore spot for many. And rightly so. What Talib did was absolutely bush league. The fact that he premeditated the act – and then bragged about it later – made it all the worse for him.

Many of us saw it as an absolutely classless act by a guy who is certainly no stranger to committing classless acts. But many of us didn’t see it as anything else but that – Talib being Talib.

However, a recent piece highlighted the incident and the cultural significance of wearing chains, what it represents, and by snatching Crabtree’s chain, the message Talib was actually sending. It’s a well-written, thoughtful, and very thought-provoking piece that’s well worth the read.

Where there is some measure of disagreement with that article though, is that by posing for a spontaneous, goofball photo-op, King himself became complicit in attacking Crabtree’s manhood, as is suggested by that piece.

The outrage that King engendered by taking that picture has been mind-blowing. Calls of disloyalty – among other colorful phrases – has dominated the discussion of King’s picture with Talib. The reaction out of some corners of the Raider Nation makes it seem as if King’s ill-advised photo-op was somehow worse than what Talib did in the first place.

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It would be nice to think that the players shared the same level of hatred and vitriol for other teams as we the fans do. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. These players belong to a pretty exclusive fraternity and friendships across team lines are going to be formed. That’s just the way things are – especially with free agency and players moving from team to team every season.

In a fun, festive atmosphere like the Pro Bowl, it has to be easy to get caught up in a moment without thinking of the optics or the later ramifications. We all know that King is a screwball who loves to goof off – and the attention said goofing off brings him.

It’s really doubtful that by posing for that picture, he thought he was doing any harm. And it’s even more doubtful that he thought he was attacking Crabtree’s masculinity by doing it.

Was it an ill-advised, ill-timed picture? Yeah, probably. With the taste of a playoff loss and the image of Talib snatching Crabtree’s chain still fresh in everybody’s mind, perhaps King could have – and should have – been a little more thoughtful with his actions.

The firestorm surrounding King’s photo-op has been incredible to behold. And while some of the anger isn’t entirely without merit, it has also perhaps gone, a bridge too far. He’s one of the best punters in the league and by all accounts prior to this, a good teammate – why on earth then, would you call for the team to cut him over an admittedly ill-thought out, but ultimately silly photograph he probably didn’t think was doing any harm?

Ultimately, this is going to be for King and Crabtree to hash out. For all we know, Crabtree wasn’t upset by King’s photo in the first place. Or if he was, perhaps they’ve already talked and there’s nothing more to this story. But as it continues to play out across social media, it’s clear that for some, there is.

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King’s colorful personality – as well as his booming kicks – are what has endeared him to the Raider nation. And while we love his antics most of the time, he probably should perhaps, be a little more conscious of the way things will be perceived – by both the fans and his teammates.

Ultimately though, this controversy seems to be much ado about not very much at all.