We had to know that Micah Parsons’ podcast would eventually become a point of contention.
With the Dallas Cowboys failing to meet expectations season after season, fingers are always pointed in some direction. And if there’s a whiff of the slightest bit of a so-called off-the-field distraction, those in sports media often chomp at the bit to make it a referendum on athletes having their own platform.
But these comments didn’t stem from sports media; they came from one of Parsons’ teammates — Malik Hooker. Appearing on Keyshawn Johnson’s All Facts No Brakes podcast, Hooker was asked how he felt about his teammate having a podcast during the season.
“Honestly, man, and this is me, I’m one of those guys that’s not into that type of stuff,” Hooker explained. “Some guys, it works for. You see the Jason Kelces and guys like that, who are successful with the podcast, as well as performing on the field and having success with it. So, I don’t have a problem with it. I feel like a lot of these guys, though, they just get on there sometimes, and they start falling into the part of just saying stuff for the clicks and having people to come view and stuff like that.
“I mean, I don’t have no problem with that. For Micah, my advice would be: Just make sure we’re alright, and being where your feet are,” Hooker said. “Because if we’re out working, and the run game’s terrible, but you’re doing a podcast every week — and you know the run game is terrible — then what are you really caring about? Are you caring about the crowd that’s watching your podcast, or are you caring about the success of our team and the Super Bowl that we’re trying to reach?”
After launching his podcast, The Edge with Micah Parsons, in 2023, Parsons took a big step in May by becoming president of Bleacher Report’s Gridiron division.
“But also, a lot of people got to remember, Micah’s young,” Hooker added. “He’s still trying to find his way. He’s still trying to grow into who he’s trying to be. I give him grace, honestly. I always hear people say stuff that he said on the podcast or something he shouldn’t have said. But people got to remember, Micah’s still a big kid. And you can’t fault a big kid for trying to expand, as well as experiencing that they ain’t really been through.
“Micah’s only been in the league four years. There’s still experiencing stuff that he been through. He ain’t never been through real adversity yet in the league. Like, he ain’t really seen that yet. I feel like over time and over these next couple of years of experience and adversity, you’ll see him start to change how he approaches the podcast and stuff like that.”
Hooker caveated that it didn’t bother him, but that didn’t stop those comments from reaching Parsons. And Parsons responded in a since-deleted tweet, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
“Just wish you said this to me but instead on some podcast!” Parsons wrote, according to the New York Post. “And you got my number family! And you my locker mate! So you coulda said this any day! And you do realize I shoot the podcast on our off day! Why ain’t we talking about everyone preparations and focus.”
Hooker called it “bait,” acknowledging that his comments on Johnson’s podcast might have been perceived that way by Parsons, even if that wasn’t his original intention. Seemingly, Hooker understands how his words could be interpreted as criticism designed to provoke a reaction, even though he may have simply been offering constructive feedback.
Whatever his intention was, his attempt to be authentic on Johnson’s podcast and provide thoughts seemed to have backfired. Whether it actually exposes a potential rift within the Cowboys or was just a misunderstanding between teammates remains to be seen.
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.