NFL.com Contradicts Bryant McKinnie’s Assertion That He Pulled out of Pro Bowl

Bryant McKinnie has spent the entire afternoon telling anyone who’ll listen on Twitter that he dropped out of the Pro Bowl voluntarily, as a result of nagging injuries, before getting booted for missing most of the week’s practices and meetings.

“I was trying to push myself to play in this game and I thought my body would start feeling better the later we got in the week,” reads McKinnie’s multi-tweet explanation.  “So yesterday I called my agent and said I don’t think I will be able to play.  He called and got in touch with the trainer, the trainer called me last night and I told him what was bothering me.  We ended up missing each other and that was that.”

If McKinnie’s story is indeed true, someone forgot to inform whoever is in charge of updating NFL.com’s Pro Bowl page, because on there it states quite clearly, “The following player will not play in the Pro Bowl because of unexcused absences from practice: Bryant McKinnie, Vikings.”

It could be that McKinnie is telling the truth about his health, but the point is, if he wasn’t feeling up to playing, he should’ve dropped out sooner and let the league call in someone to replace him.  His childish handling of the situation means that someone got screwed out of a shot at playing in the Pro Bowl in his place, and that the NFC will now have to take the field with only two tackles.

My guess is that, by tomorrow, his agent will have convinced him to issue an apology to the league and everyone else for his absurd actions.  It seems McKinnie himself is too dumb to realize an apology is in order.