Eli Apple Says Goodbye To Twitter Trolling
Eli Apple has a two-month-old daughter, and these days, an afternoon stroll in the park can be the most notable part of his day.
It’s a far cry from being at the epicenter of NFL controversy, a spot the veteran cornerback often found himself in past years.
The reason for that? Twitter fingers.
Apple is a self-admitted troll, someone who enjoys needling opponents and having a back-and-forth with fans. But when you’re an NFL player, trolling is seen by millions of people and makes national headlines.
So now, at 29 years old with a wife and daughter at home, Apple has retired his mantle as the league’s most notorious Twitter user.
“Life is just different,” Apple told ReadWrite in an exclusive interview. “I mean, are there things I would like to Tweet? Yeah. My mind is always running. I have a lot of opinions about stuff, especially sports-related. But for me, I just like to protect my peace first and foremost. Family and everything, that comes first for me, and getting in internet squabbles isn’t really on the top of my priority list.”
Apple played last season for the Chargers, his sixth team in nine years after being drafted No. 10 overall by the Giants in 2016.
He is a free agent now, working out daily and awaiting his next destination, which could come once teams better understand their roster needs after the draft.
Apple admits that he made mistakes in the past, both in real life and online. But now he talks about being a leader in the locker room, someone the young guys can go to for advice.
At the top of that list, presumably, would be to limit the use of social media.
“I really do feel better,” Apple said. “Yeah, you get a certain type of feeling (when a Tweet goes viral). Your heart jumps a little bit when you see all those notifications. But then it’s like, damn, you gotta spend your whole night looking through all these interactions. And it can really take a lot out of your day, a lot out of your night, and can impact your mood. And that’s just something that I don’t want to go through.
“I made a lot of crazy moves, and I was going back and forth a lot (with people on Twitter) from when I was with the Giants to the Saints and then the Bengals. So I don’t want that to continue for me, because it’s not something that’s healthy. I want to push positivity and love, because we live in a world where it’s rare to find, especially with social media.”
Apple says one of his biggest errors was criticizing the city of New Orleans and the Saints’ fanbase on Twitter in January of 2022, when he was playing for the Bengals.
Apple said it all stemmed from a few negative interactions with Saints fans in his mentions, which snowballed into a post criticizing the fanbase, and then several follow-ups.
“Oh, man,” Apple said. “Honestly, that was one of my biggest mistakes for sure. It was just one of those moments where you are winning and feeling a type of way. So, yeah, I was just sitting there watching football and making my critiques, and then I’m still getting bad replies from the Saints fans. It’s those moments where you let a few bad fans kind of dictate something.
“My comments went and definitely rubbed people the wrong way. I got messages from everybody in New Orleans.”
Lmaoo not crab legs hell naw https://t.co/zcM91JPbGU
— Eli Apple (@EliApple) January 24, 2022
Apple says that his two-season stint with the Saints is actually among his most cherished in the NFL.
“They brought me in and embraced everything about me, so honestly, it was nothing but love,” Apple said. “Those are probably some of my favorite moments playing football. It felt like college. A lot of guys from Ohio State helped with that transition being traded (from the Giants).
“I remember getting that call. I’m like, ‘Damn, gotta pack up everything in a matter of hours, and I’m going to New Orleans, a completely different city that I’ve never been to before.’ And when I got there it was nothing but love. So of course, I retract those statements and send nothing but love to everyone out there.”
One year later, things hit a fevered pitch when Apple trolled Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs with a ‘Cancun On 3’ after the Bengals knocked Buffalo from the playoffs.
Apple added an emoji with heart hands, which some Bills players and fans thought was a veiled shot at safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest in a game in Cincinnati three weeks earlier and nearly lost his life.
Apple says the response changed his perspective.
“The whole Damar thing got twisted up a little bit, and they thought I was coming at him,” Apple said. “I was never, ever making it about Damar. Like we don’t even go at each other, you know what I mean? It was me and the offense, Josh Allen and the receivers I went against. But they really made it a big deal about a certain emoji I used and thought I was referring to Hamlin.
“We play the same position. It would be crazy to purposely go out there and troll a guy who came back from something crazy. That I was on the field for. I literally saw him on the field going through that.”
All love thoughts prayers and concerns to @HamlinIsland as he continues to recover from that tragic incident. Never would I make light of that scary unfortunate scene. This game is truly a dangerous risk to our bodies mind and spirit. Nothing but love to all my football brothers
— Eli Apple (@EliApple) January 24, 2023
In the midst of his high-profile escapades, Apple said Bengals coach Zac Taylor had a quick conversation with him, intimating it was time to tone it down.
“He was just like, ‘Calm that down a little bit,’” Apple said. “You know, ‘Are you done?’ ‘Yeah.’ He just said, ‘Continue to stay positive and continue to push the brand of who we are. Don’t go stooping down on other people’s levels.’ And that was very, very true and very instrumental for me going forward.”
Apple didn’t stop cold turkey, and part of him still doesn’t see the big fuss over some social media trash talk.
“It’s not like I’m out here breaking the law or anything,” Apple said.
But Apple hasn’t posted since February 9, and that was a simple retweet giving praise to Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio for his Super Bowl game-plan.
He hasn’t been in a high-profile Twitter beef in a couple years now.
“It was a gradual (change),” Apple said. “Because even after the Super Bowl (in 2022), I had my moments still where I was, like, ‘There’s a lot more to prove.’ And, ‘I’m coming back on this revenge tour.’ I wanted to get back at all those people who said anything bad.
“I was one of those people who loved to go back and forth, but after time, it just takes away your energy, and it’s not really worth it. So for me now, (Twitter) is just a great tool to keep up with the news, and maybe still interact a little bit. But for the most part, I keep it to a minimum.”
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