Why is Eli Apple so hated by NFL players?
Eli Apple may not have been a prominent storyline of the Super Bowl leading up to the game. The 26-year-old isn't the Cincinnati Bengals' best or even second-best cornerback. But he found himself guarding Cooper Kupp on multiple plays and was on the wrong end of their exchanges more often than not.
Apple wasn't able to contain Kupp throughout the game. Kupp caught both of his touchdowns against Apple on his way to winning Super Bowl MVP. Kupp wound up with eight catches for 92 yards and two game-changing scores.
During and after the game, the Bengals cornerback received a lot of tweets directed at him from NFL players, most specifically, wide receivers.
Eli Apple can’t catch a break 💀 https://t.co/nsMdakTK1u
Outside of Apple having a poor game on the game's biggest stage, the question is warranted: what did Eli Apple do to give him such a bad reputation amongst the NFL?
Eli Apple has a history of taunting NFL players
Apple isn't a stranger to taunting penalties, which is one of the biggest reasons he's not well-loved within the NFL community. The most current example of his taunting was as recently as the AFC divisional round against the Tennessee Titans.
In that game, his teammate, Mike Hilton, intercepted Ryan Tannehill. After Tannehill was on the ground, Apple stood over him in a taunting penalty against the former first-round pick.
The cornerback's taunting penalties haven't been restricted to just his time in Cincinnati. Eli Apple played in 25 games with the New Orleans Saints and created bad blood with Saints fans and players alike after talking trash about the city in a Twitter post.
"New Orleans is the dirtiest smelliest city and has the worst food ever Face with tears of joy it’s that swine and crawfish thts [sic] killin yall brains," Apple wrote.
Another blemish on Apple's resume came in 2019 with the Saints, when he made fun of Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen for his height in a game. That play resulted in a penalty as well.
Saints calling Tarik Cohen short to his face is beyond disrespectful https://t.co/emHgR6Sja8
Among those who tweeted about Apple during the Super Bowl were Lamar Jackson, Marquise Brown and even former Saints teammate Michael Thomas.
Apple has played for four teams throughout his NFL career, and his character is a likely cause for why he's had a hard time finding a home. His physical style of play resulted in the most coverage penalties in the NFL between the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The Bengals' Super Bowl loss will be something Eli Apple thinks about for the rest of his life. For him, seeing social media's thoughts about him will be an insult to injury.