For professional athletes, being traded when you least expect it has to conjure up a range of emotions. If it doesn’t, you’re probably not human.
And DJ Moore, as bionic as he may look sometimes, is human.
On Thursday, the Chicago Bears welcomed in their new star wide receiver with his introductory press conference—one in which he was asked about his former employer. This is what Moore said about his feelings when he heard he was being shipped off by the Carolina Panthers a week ago:
“I really was just like, ‘Whatever.’ Like, let’s go. At that point it was just like, we gon’ start somewhere new—that put a chip on my shoulder because we gotta go somewhere new. But, other than that, they [Carolina] wanted to move up and get rid of me, so I’m gonna go somewhere where I’m loved.”
The Panthers moved all the way up to the 2023 NFL draft’s first overall selection in exchange for Moore and a bunch of picks—two first-rounders and two second-rounders, to be more precise.
But it wasn’t that part of the quote that got some of the Carolina faithful a bit bothered. It was, as you’d imagine, the “I’m gonna go somewhere where I’m loved” part.
Here are just a few of the reactions to the comment from Panthers fans:
DJ cmon bro. We was defending the hell outta them lil 4 TDs a season. Not like this pic.twitter.com/K6emWyqLqU
— CAGE LUKE MR. (@CageLukeMr) March 17, 2023
Who is theeeey @idjmoore ?? Lol https://t.co/93mhIZ5KRU pic.twitter.com/96RTp46yrw
— ꪮꪶꪗꪑρíꪖ (@O_BabyNC) March 17, 2023
This hurts to hear… He was always a favorite
— Mike Gross (@MikeGro41282842) March 17, 2023
But Moore would take to Twitter himself and clear his words up, saying that the answer had nothing to do with the fans.
Y’all took it literal it’s a business not about the Fan Love😂
— DJ Moore (@idjmoore) March 17, 2023
So . . . we’re all cool again, right?
