SLEEPGATE: Did Rob Gronkowski Stage This Picture of Himself Dozing at the Airport?
On Tuesday afternoon, loveable Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski tweeted this photo of himself supposedly sleeping at the airport.
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On the surface, it’s harmless. Adorable, even. Yet there may be a dark side to this tale: after spending way too much time staring at this photo of Gronk, we at Boston.com believe it may have been… staged. Our evidence is as follows:
Exhibit A. – Suspicious cropping.
If you wanted to take a selfie and make it appear candid, how would you frame it? Much like Gronk did — with as little arm showing as possible. But even with such deft cropping, Gronk’s right arm appears to be angled forward — as if holding a cellphone.
Exhibit B. – The Patriots arrived yesterday.
Not in itself damning, as the picture could have been snapped before the Patriots boarded the plane in Phoenix. And the surroundings sure look like an airport — or, at least, they don’t not look like an airport. Yet to our eyes the delay suggests premeditation on Gronk’s part, or on the part of whomever runs his social media account.
Exhibit C. – Who sleeps like that?
Come on. That’s an “I’m pretending to sleep and doing a bad job at it’’ face if we’ve ever seen one. OK, this one’s more conjecture than science. But the most damning evidence is still to come…
Exhibit D. – This tweet from teammate Chandler Jones.
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The above suggests two possibilities: Chandler Jones saw Gronk’s tweet and shared our suspicions based on the above evidence, or he saw the staging in question. If it’s the latter, case closed. As of press time, Jones had not returned a tweet for comment.
THE VERDICT – Inconclusive
So, did Gronk stage this photo? Probably. But without any concrete evidence or clear eyewitness testimony, it’s too close to call.
You win this time, Gronkowski. But we’re keeping an eye on you.
UPDATE: It’s come to our attention Gronk stopped over in Los Angeles for an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel live, making Exhibit B moot. However, we stand by Exhibits A, C and D.
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