If we had a nickel for every time a Cleveland Browns reporter got caught mocking a quarterback’s height, we’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
This time around, though, the situation feels a lot less sinister.
After Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel met with reporters on Saturday, a reporter in the background of the podium can be seen mouthing a couple of times, “I’m taller than him.” And, yes, he is, even though the Browns list Gabriel as a generous 5-foot-11 on their current roster. For what it’s worth, the University of Oregon listed Gabriel at 6 feet, so he’s lost an inch since being drafted by the Browns in the third round of last month’s 2025 NFL Draft.
Gabriel has already defended himself and Shedeur Sanders from media criticism, seemingly in the same press conference and setting. That was a planned question from a reporter. This one? Not so much.
Many people on X have identified the reporter, who mouthed that he was taller than Gabriel, as Chris Easterling, who covers the Browns for the Akron Beacon Journal. Easterling hasn’t confirmed that it was indeed he seen in the 18-second clip, but it sure seems like the Twitter mob has already decided he was the culprit.
This incident calls to mind a previous Browns reporter controversy involving a quarterback’s height. ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi was suspended indefinitely for calling Baker Mayfield a “midget” on a hot mic. That situation was far worse than what Easterling is alleged (or seen) to have done here.
In this case, though, Easterling probably just got caught up in the moment.
After all, it’s not every day you stand next to a professional athlete who’s shorter than you. And you’d probably be hard-pressed to name more than a few quarterbacks who are as short as Gabriel.
So, maybe it’s understandable that the moment got to him. It happens.
That said, mouthing “I’m taller than him” three times probably wasn’t the best reaction when the cameras were still rolling.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.