The NFL is under fire — and maybe brimstone — after editing God and Jesus out of a sweet message of goodwill from the five-year-old son of a Dallas Cowboys star.
The message from Aaiden Diggs, son of cornerback Trevon Diggs, came at training camp media day. The plucky little boy showed up with his proud dad, stood on a step stool, and gave reporters an extensive list of everyone he loves.
“Every time I’m with my Dad, I love it because he gets me picks and it makes me happy,” Aaiden said as his father beamed. “I love the whole world, I love God and Jesus, and I love my family.”
“I really love #️⃣7️⃣ cause it’s my favorite number…I love the whole 🌎, I love God and Jesus, and I love my whole family.” – Aaiden Diggs #CowboysCamp | @NFL pic.twitter.com/lMsfywwGKE
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) August 8, 2022
“Picks” refers to interceptions, and Aaiden’s dad led the NFL with 11 last year.
The NFL thought it was so cute it tweeted out the message. Except for the God, Jesus, and family parts.
“It does not get any cuter than Aaiden Diggs,” read the tweet from the league’s official account. “I love the whole world.”
It does not get any cuter than Aaiden Diggs.
"I love the whole world." 🥺💙 (via @dallascowboys) pic.twitter.com/Oz8hSVQeQ8
— NFL (@NFL) August 8, 2022
Disney-owned woke sports network ESPN also felt the need to edit Aaiden’s comment down to a secular, “I love the whole world.”
Fans on Twitter did not appreciate the partial quoting of Aaiden.
“The quote is, ‘I love God and Jesus.’ Good on dad for raising this awesome young man to love the Lord. We need more of this!” tweeted Bumpnrun1515.
“How about God and Jesus? Some of us square Christians watch the NFL, but we can do without it,” tweeted Buck Fama.
To their credit, the Dallas Cowboys tweeted out Aaiden’s entire message.
Little Aaiden made a name for himself last year, when the Cowboys were featured on HBO’s training camp show, “Hard Knocks.” His adorable interaction with his father and fellow team members went viral, including his revelation that his favorite player was actually quarterback Dak Prescott, whom he seemed to confuse with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The league has since featured the telegenic boy in short videos, including ones with his father.