Sports

Baseball slang 101: A guide to talking like you’re in an MLB clubhouse

Published

1 year ago

September 3, 2024

Baseball slang 101: A guide to talking like you’re in an MLB clubhouse

So you want to talk like a baseball person? Then you’ll have to curse a lot.

At least, that’s how Pat Murphy, the Milwaukee Brewers’ manager, explained it to his boss’ young son. As long as you’re wearing a baseball glove, Murphy told Tyler Arnold — the son of Brewers’ general manager Matt Arnold — you can use whatever words you hear in the clubhouse. That didn’t go over too well at home.

“A lot of it’s not very PG,” said Seth Lugo, a Kansas City Royals pitcher, who shares kid-friendly stuff with his own son.

“He wants to hit balls in the backyard, so he’ll hit ’em and I’ll say ‘steak dinner!’” Lugo said. “First time I told him that he’s like, ‘What is that?’ And I’m like, ‘RBI… rib-eye… steak dinner.’ So now whenever he’s hitting balls, he’s going, ‘Steak dinner!’”

The thing about baseball slang, though, is that a lot of it applies only to baseball. When a teammate strikes out a hitter with a fastball, for example, you might salute it by yelling “doors!” — as in, he blew the doors off that guy. Or there’s this, from New York Mets reliever Adam Ottavino, also for a strikeout.

“Go sit in the truck,” Ottavino said. “It’s just one of those things where your dad would get mad at you and tell you to go sit in the car. Like, ‘Go sit in the truck and think about what you just did.’ There’s probably something like that for almost every situation in baseball.”

Cheese. Uncle Charlie. Walk-off. Golden Sombrero. Platinum Sombrero. While narrow in scope, the baseball ecosystem has its own vast and peculiar vocabulary. Enough to fill a dictionary, in fact.

But what about those distinctive baseball expressions that could also apply to the larger world, where they’d sound laughably out of place? If you’re in the game, you know the feeling.

“The thing that comes to mind for me is the scouting scale, 20 to 80,” Arnold said, referring to the Branch Rickey grading system — still widely known — in which 20 is the low and 80 the high.

“So I’ll be like, ‘That’s a 70 sandwich’ or ‘That’s a 35 restaurant’ – like, it’ll play, but not a regular. And no one understands what we’re talking about. But when you’re in baseball, you’re like, ‘I get it.’ You know what a 35 is.”

One baseball person might ask another, “How hard is he throwing?” or “What was the velo on that pitch?” And yet baseball people would never, ever ask, “How fast was that pitch?”

They know this makes no sense.

“You wouldn’t say ‘What was your velo on your drive home?’” said Derek Falvey, the Minnesota Twins’ president of baseball operations. “You’d say, ‘How fast were you going?’ But if someone says, ‘How fast was that pitch?’, you know they’re not around baseball very much.”

Well, there are a couple of ways to change that. You could spend the bulk of your life embedded in dugouts, clubhouses, front offices or press boxes. Or you could read our back-to-school primer, with 20 tips on how to sound like a big leaguer in everyday life.

(Formal dictionary definitions are from the Merriam-Webster website.)

Bang

Everyday meaning: v. – to strike sharply
“Don’t bang your head on that low railing.”

Baseball meaning: v. – to postpone a game
“It was raining all afternoon, so they banged the game.”

When worlds collide: “It’s supposed to snow overnight. Do you think they’ll bang school?”

Boat race

Everyday meaning: n. – A race between boats
“That was an exciting boat race on the harbor today.”

Baseball meaning: v. – To rout another team by pulling away early, as if one team is in a speedboat and the other in a rowboat
“They got 10 runs in the first two innings and just boat-raced us.”

When worlds collide: “We were the same height till middle school,” the short man said of his friend, who grew up to be 6-foot-10, “then he just boat-raced me!”

Quatraro on the #Royals navigating the ups and downs: “That’s how baseball is. You’re going to go through little streaks here and there. When you’re in a playoff race, it’s very rare that you just boat race everybody and get out to a huge lead.” pic.twitter.com/v0QePd1VfF
— Bally Sports Kansas City (@BallySportsKC) July 28, 2024

Eye wash

Everyday meaning: n. 1 – an eye lotion, 2 – misleading or deceptive statements, actions or procedures

Baseball meaning: n. – false hustle
“He always makes a big show of bunting whenever we hit on the field, so people will think he’s this old-school player. But it’s all eyewash, because he’s never even tried it in a game.”

When worlds collide: “It’s such eyewash to post about it on social media when you won’t even give your time or money to the cause.”

For me

Everyday meaning: something done on behalf of the speaker
“Can you do a favor for me?”

Baseball meaning: In my opinion (the way anyone else would use “to me”)
“When I look at where he slots in their rotation, he’s more of a back-end guy, for me.”

When worlds collide:
“The neighbors’ new fence looks great, for me.”

4A

Everyday meaning: (from the Ford website) Four-wheel drive auto (4A) – Electronically controlled 4WD with power delivered to the front and rear wheels. Provides increased traction on varied road conditions.
“Make sure the Bronco is in 4A when you’re out on those wet roads today.”

Baseball meaning: adj. – better than most players in Triple A, but not good enough to stick in the majors
“He’s a 4A guy; he can fall out of bed and hit .280 down there, but he’s never been able to stick up here.”

When worlds collide: “I thought I was pretty good at Jeopardy! but it turns out I’m more of a 4A guy — the one time I got on the show, it was really hard to keep up.”

Fringy

Everyday meaning: an adjective describing something marginal, additional, or secondary to some activity, process, or subject

Baseball meaning: Not quite reaching a certain scouting grade.
“He’ll probably hit .300, but he’s a first baseman with fringy-average power.”

When worlds collide: “I liked the appetizers and dessert, but that was a fringy-average chicken parm.”

Guy

Everyday meaning: n. – a man, fellow

Baseball meaning: n. – An everyday player in the majors (as opposed to a “dude,” meaning superstar), often but not always used to describe prospects
“I went down to see our Double-A team, and that catcher has really improved since we drafted him. He’s a guy now, for me.”

When worlds collide: “I was listening to our state senator speak at the high school, and I’m telling you, she’s a guy. I could see her as a congresswoman someday.”

Hang with ’em

Everyday meaning: the closest non-baseball equivalent is “hang in there”
“I’m sorry you’re feeling sick. Hang in there!”

Baseball meaning: same as the everyday meaning… but sort of plural, for reasons unknown
“We lost tonight, we used the whole bullpen and we put our leadoff guy on the injured list. And now we’ve got a doubleheader tomorrow with their aces on the mound. Hang with ’em!”

When worlds collide: “Oh man, you spilled coffee on your shirt, your car wouldn’t start, it rained on your walk to the office and now you’ve gotta work a double shift? Hang with ’em!”

Horse

Everyday meaning: n. – a large solid-hoofed herbivorous ungulate mammal domesticated since prehistoric times and used as a beast of burden, a draft animal, or for riding.

“She grew up riding horses at her grandparents’ farm.”

Baseball meaning: n. – Someone who is durable and reliable (typically applied to pitchers)
“The Phillies have a couple of horses in that rotation with Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.”

When worlds collide: “Jimmy’s a horse out on the road. He drives that big rig back and forth across the country several times a month.”

Kitchen

Everyday meaning: n. – a place (such as a room) with cooking facilities
“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Baseball meaning: n. – The area of space from the inside corner to a hitter’s torso, from the belt to the shoulders
“He knows I like to extend my arms, so he was really getting in my kitchen today.”

When worlds collide: “That guy was like the close talker on ‘Seinfeld,’ he got right up in my kitchen.”

Let it eat

Everyday meaning: v. – to allow something to consume food
“The zookeeper was holding a bird and let it eat right out of her hand.”

Baseball meaning: v. – to perform an action with conviction, as in throwing your best fastball or taking your best swing
“His stuff was better as a reliever, because he could really let it eat.”

When worlds collide: “When you give that speech tonight, don’t hold back, just let it eat.”

Plus

Everyday meaning: n. – a positive quality or factor
“The hotel has free parking, which is a plus.”

Baseball meaning: adj. – one grade up, or better than average (plus-plus means two grades up)
“He had plus speed and a plus arm, but the other tools were lacking.”

When worlds collide: “No wonder she got a solo in the school play, she’s always had a plus singing voice.”

Service time

Everyday meaning: the time required to serve a customer
“When taking someone’s order, the service time should be less than two minutes.”

Baseball meaning: the specific number of years and days spent on the active, 26-man major-league roster or major-league injured list, with 172 days counting as one year
“They waited until June to call him up, probably to hold down his service time.”

When worlds collide: “I forget when you started working at this coffee shop – how much service time do you have?”

Show-and-go

Everyday meaning: v. – to cause or permit to be seen (and) v. – to move on a course (two common verbs not used together very often)
“Take out your phone, open your boarding pass, show (the gate agent) and go through the gate.”

Baseball meaning: a manager’s decision to give players a later reporting time than usual, allowing them to skip batting practice and take the field with minimal preparation
“We played 12 innings tonight, so with the early start tomorrow, we’re gonna do a show-and-go.”

When worlds collide: “I’m not coming in early tomorrow morning to cram for the test with you guys. Gonna be a show-and-go for me.”

Spin

Everyday meaning: v. – to revolve rapidly (gyrate), n. – the whirling motion imparted (as to a ball or top) by spinning

Baseball meaning: also both verb and noun. While both fastballs and breaking balls revolve rapidly, the word spin almost always refers to the kind that causes the ball to break — except as a noun following “efficient” (a fastball that stays tight and does not wobble has “efficient spin”)
v. – “He doesn’t throw hard, but he can really spin the ball.”
n. – “You can still hit the fastball at those 4:00 starts, but the shadows make it hard to pick up spin.”

When worlds collide: “It could be a challenging day for surfers, because those waves have really good spin.”

Spit

Everyday meaning: v. – expectorate
“The mama looked down and spit on the ground every time my name gets mentioned.”

Baseball meaning: v. – to take an off-speed pitch, meant to deceive, without even starting to swing
“It looked like he saw that really good, because that changeup was nasty and he just spit on it.”

When worlds collide: “The movie was set up to make you suspect the husband, but you spit on that theory and knew it was the wife all along.”

Show

Everyday meaning: n. – a performance or public spectacle
“He starred on the show for seven seasons, then left to marry Holly.”

Baseball meaning: adj. – fashionable, stylish and probably expensive, as befitting someone who has established himself in “The Show” (the major leagues)
“He had a great rookie year and rolled into the locker room this spring with Louis V bags and everything. That’s show.”

When worlds collide: “She used to take the bus to work, but she got that big promotion and bought herself a Mercedes. That’s show.”

Waffled

Everyday meaning: v. – equivocated, vacillated

Baseball meaning: v. – to be the victim of an emphatic hit, as a pitcher
“Last time I faced this guy, he waffled me. He hit it so hard I thought it was gonna go through the wall.”

When worlds collide: “It’s gonna take a while for the roads to clear; that ice storm waffled the whole town.”

Wear it

Everyday meaning: v. – to bear or have on the person
“That suit looks good, I think I’ll wear it to the wedding.”

Baseball meaning: v. – to absorb a humiliation for the good of the team
“It was already 6-0, but the bullpen was worn out so the starter had to stay in and wear it.”

When worlds collide: “I would normally have the kids rake the leaves, but they’re studying for midterms so I just had to wear it.”

Wraparound

Everyday meaning: n. – an object that encircles or especially curves and laps over another
“I’ve always wanted a home with a wraparound porch.”

Baseball meaning: adj. – a rare weekend series that extends beyond Sunday to include a final game on Monday; n. – the Monday game of such a series
“I thought we were leaving town but forgot we have the wraparound game on Monday.”

When worlds collide: “It’ll be a wraparound visit; the weekend flights are too expensive, so we’ll come home Monday night.”

That is, unless they bang the flight. And if they do, you may find yourself in this condition.

(Top photo: Getty; Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos)

Sports

Eileen Gu reflects on decision to leave Team USA for China: ‘A lot of people just don’t understand’

Published

9 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Eileen Gu reflects on decision to leave Team USA for China: ‘A lot of people just don’t understand’

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Eileen Gu released a statement on social media Monday, reflecting on her controversial decision to compete for Team China despite being born and raised in the U.S.

Gu’s statement tied the decision back to her passion for promoting women’s sports, and encouraging young girls to pursue sports.

“I gave my first speech on women in sports and title IX when I was 11 years old. I talked about being the only girl on my ski team, and, despite attending an all-girls’ school from Monday through Friday, becoming best friends with my teammates on the weekends through the common language of sport,” Gu wrote on Instagram.

Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China poses for photos after the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images) (Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

“At the same time, I was made painfully aware of the lack of representation – at age 9, I felt that I was somehow representing all women every time I stepped in the terrain park. Landing tricks was about more than progression … it was about disproving the derisive implication of what it meant to ‘ski like a girl.’”

Gu went on to express gratitude for the one season in which she did compete for the U.S.

“When I was 15, I announced my decision to compete for China. At the time, I had spent one season on the US team, and had been lucky enough to meet my heroes in person. I am forever grateful for that season, and continue to maintain a close relationship with the team. I had spent every summer in China since I was 8 setting up summer camps on trampoline and dry slope for kids and adults, ranging from 7 to 47 years old, so I knew the industry was tiny. I felt like I knew everyone,” she added.

“Skiing for Team China meant the opportunity to uplift others through the universal culture of sport, and to introduce freeskiing to hundreds of millions of people who had never heard of it, especially with the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics around the corner.”

Gu’s statement concluded by acknowledging that certain people “don’t understand” her decision to compete for China over the U.S., while insisting the choice maximized the impact she would have.

“I can look back now, at 22, and tell 12 year old Eileen that there are now terrain parks full of little girls, who will never doubt their place in the sport. I can tell 15 year old me that there are now millions of girls who have started skiing since then, in China and worldwide,” Gu wrote.

“A lot of people won’t understand or believe that I made a decision to create the greatest amount of positive impact on the world stage that I could, at this age, given my interests and passions. Three golds and six medals later, I can confidently say was once a dream is now a reality.”

Gu has become a target for global criticism this Olympics for her decision to represent China while remaining silent on the country’s alleged human rights abuses.

In an interview with Time magazine, Gu was asked her thoughts on China’s alleged persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

“I haven’t done the research. I don’t think it’s my business. I’m not going to make big claims on my social media,” Gu answered.

“I’m just more of a skeptic when it comes to data in general. … So, it’s not like I can read an article and be like, ‘Oh, well, this must be the truth.’ I need to have a ton of evidence. I need to maybe go to the place, maybe talk to 10 primary source people who are in a location and have experienced life there.

“Then I need to go see images. I need to listen to recordings. I need to think about how history affects it. Then I need to read books on how politics affects it. This is a lifelong search. It’s irresponsible to ask me to be the mouthpiece for any agenda.”

More controversy surrounding Gu erupted after The Wall Street Journal reported that Gu and another American-born athlete who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025.

Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympics athlete in the world, making an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone due to partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China and western companies.

Her alignment with China prompted criticism from many Americans this Olympics, including Vice President J.D. Vance.

“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said in an interview on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

Later, when Gu was asked if she feels “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics at the moment,” she said she does.

“I do,” she said. “So many athletes compete for a different country. … People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So, it’s not really about what they think it’s about.

“And, also, because I win. Like, if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”

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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Gu has claimed she was “physically assaulted” for the decision.

“The police were called. I’ve had death threats. I’ve had my dorm robbed,” Gu told The Athletic.

“I’ve gone through some things as a 22-year-old that I really think no one should ever have to endure, ever.”

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.

Sports

Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Evans, Carl Lewis new members of California’s Hall of Fame

Published

10 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Arnold, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Evans, Carl Lewis new members of California’s Hall of Fame

From Hollywood actors to Olympic athletes and politicians, California’s newest Hall of Fame class runs the gamut in talent and achievements.

Academy Award-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis and former governor/action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, Olympic champions Janet Evans and Carl Lewis, authors Riane Eisler and Terry McMillan, chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, groundbreaking ensemble Mariachi Reyne de Los Ángeles and former state Democratic leader John L. Burton all earned a spot into the assembly of distinct Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.

This class, the 19th in state history, will be formally enshrined during a ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento on March 19 as a “celebration of their contributions to civic life, creativity, and social progress,” according to Newsom’s office.

The inductees “have reshaped our culture and our communities. Resilient and innovative, these leaders and luminaries represent the best of the California spirit,” Newsom said in a statement.

To be inducted, candidates must have lived in California for at least five years and “have made achievements benefiting the state, nation and world,” according to the California Hall of Fame website. To date, 166 Californians have been selected by three governors since 2006.

Schwarzenegger, 78, served as the state’s 38th governor and last Republican head of state from 2003 to 2011. His renaissance man biography includes a career as a body builder, highlighted by his Mr. Universe titles, action film success, political stardom and even tabloid-fodder infidelity.

Curtis, 67, a Santa Monica native, is among Hollywood’s elite and teamed with Schwarzenegger in the action blockbuster “True Lies” in 1994. Her acting career dates to 1977, and she earned a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2023 for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

Evans, 54, is a four-time Olympic gold medal swimmer and Fullerton native who attended Placentia El Dorado High School, Stanford University and USC. She serves as chief athletic officer for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Lewis, 64, is considered by many one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. The track star won 10 medals, nine of them gold, in four Olympics.

Eisler, 88, and McMillan, 74, added multiple bestsellers to this Hall of Fame class.

Eisler’s critically acclaimed “The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future” examines roughly 20,000 years of partnership between men and women and male domination over the last 5,000 years. The futurist, cultural historian and Holocaust survivor who has degrees in sociology and law from UCLA said she was informed of the honor last year by Jennifer Siebel Newsom and recently was honored by the Austrian government with its Cross of Honour for Science and Art, First Class.

“I am very honored at this time in my life to be inducted into the California Hall of Fame,” Eisler wrote in an email. “I have worked tirelessly to help create a better world, and firmly believe that a new paradigm, a new way of looking at our world and our place in it, is crucial.”

McMillan has written a series of smash hits, including a couple that became major studio films in the ‘90s, “Waiting to Exhale” and “How Stella Got her Groove Back,” centered on Black women’s voices.

Matsuhisa, 76, know for his iconic Japanese restaurant Nobu, which has six locations in California, owns businesses across five continents.

Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles, founded in South El Monte, rewrote the rules of music, becoming the first all-woman mariachi ensemble that has entertained for more than three decades.

Burton, the former chair of the California Democratic Party who died last year at 92, boasted a political career that included time in the California State Assembly and Senate and the U.S. House.

“This year’s class embodies the very best of California — creativity, resilience and a spirit of community,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement. “These honorees remind us that innovation and courage flourish when people are lifted up by those around them.”

Sports

Former NFL Players Of Iranian Descent Speak Up For Freedom From Islamic Regime

Published

21 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Former NFL Players Of Iranian Descent Speak Up For Freedom From Islamic Regime

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Ali Haji-Sheikh and Shar Pourdanesh share the fact they are retired NFL players living beyond the glow of the NFL spotlight. But they also share another distinction tying them to current events: They are part of the Iranian diaspora hoping for the downfall of the Islamic revolution.

They make up part of a small group of men who played in the NFL – along with David Bakhtiari, his brother Eric Bakhtiari and T.J. Housmandzadeh – who are decedents of Iranians.

Washington Redskins kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh (6) talks to reporters at Jack Murphy Stadium during media day prior to Super Bowl XXII against the Denver Broncos. San Diego, California, on Jan. 26, 1988.(Darr Beiser/USA TODAY Sports)

Haji-Sheikh: Self-Determination For Iranians

Haji-Sheikh, 65, played in the 1980s for the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins. He was a first-team All-Pro, made the Pro Bowl and was on the NFL All-Rookie team in 1983 for the Giants and, in his final season, won a Super Bowl XXII ring playing for the Washington Redskins and kicking six extra points in a 42-10 blowout of the Denver Broncos.

Now, Haji-Sheikh is the general manager at a Michigan Porsche-Audi dealership and is like the rest of us: Keeping up with world events when time permits.

Except the war the United States is currently waging against the Islamic Republic of Iran is kind of different because Haji-Sheikh’s dad emigrated from Iran to the United States in the 1950s and built a life here.

And his son would like to see freedom come to a country he’s never visited but has a kinship to.

“It’s a world event,” Haji-Sheikh said on Monday. “I am not a big fan of the Islamic revolution because I am not Islamic. I would like to see the people of Iran be able to determine their own future rather than it be determined by a few people. It would be nice to see them having a stable government where the people can actually decide how they want it to go.

Green Bay Packers kicker Al Del Greco (10) talks with New York Giants kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh (6) on Sept. 15, 1985, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Giants 23-20.

Iranians Celebrating And Americans Protesting

Haji-Sheikh hasn’t taken to the streets of his native Michigan to celebrate a liberation that hasn’t fully manifested mere days after the American and Israeli bombing and elimination of the Ayatollah.

“I’m so far removed from that,” Haji-Sheikh said. “My mom is from Michigan and of Eastern European background. My dad is from Iran. But it’s like, he hasn’t been back since I was in eighth grade, so that’s a long time ago. That was when the Shah was still in power, mid-70s, ‘74 or ’75, because if he ever went back after that he never would have left. They would have held him, so there was no intention of going back.

“But if things change he might want to go, you never know.”

Despite being removed from any activism about what is happening in Iran Haji-Sheikh is an astute observer.

“My favorite thing I’m seeing right now on TV is the Iranians in America celebrating because there’s a chance, a glimpse, maybe a hope for freedom,” Haji-Sheikh said. “And you have these people in New York protesting. What are you protesting?”

Pourdanesh Thanks America, Israel

Pourdanesh retired from the NFL in 2000 after a seven-year career with the Redskins and Steelers. The six-foot-six and 312-pound offensive tackle was born in Tehran. He proudly tells people he was the NFL’s first Iranian-born player.

Pourdanesh is much more visible and open about his feelings about his country than others. And, bottom line, he loves that President Donald Trump is bombing the Islamic regime.

“This is a great day for all Iranians across the world,” Pourdanesh posted on his Instagram account on Saturday when the war began. “Thank you, President Trump, thank you to the nation of Israel. Thank you for everybody that has been standing up for my people, my brothers and sisters in Iran across the world. This is a great day.

“The infamous dictator is dead – the one person who has contributed to deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iranians and other people around the world, if not more. So, congratulations to my Iranian brothers and sisters. Now, go and take back the country.”

This message was not a one-off. Pourdanesh has been posting about what has been happening in Iran since January, when people in Iran took to the streets demanding liberty and the government’s thugs began killing them, with some estimates rising to 36,500 deaths.

Offensive lineman Shar Pourdanesh (68) of the Pittsburgh Steelers blocks against defensive lineman Jevon Kearse (90) of the Tennessee Titans during a game at Three Rivers Stadium on Sept. 24, 2000, in Pittsburgh. The Titans defeated the Steelers 23-20. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

‘Islam Does Not Represent The Iranian People’

“[The] Islamic Republic does not represent the Iranian people,” Pourdanesh said in another post. “Islam does not represent the Iranian people. For almost 50 years, the Iranian people and our country of Iran has been taken hostage by a terrorist regime, and it’s time to take that regime down.”

Pourdanesh was not available for comment on Monday. I did speak to a handful of other Iranian-Americans on Monday. They didn’t play in the NFL, but their opinions are no less valuable than those of former NFL players.

And these people, some of them participating in rallies on behalf of a free Iran, do not understand the thinking of some Americans and mainstream media.

One complained that media that reports on reparations for black Americans based on slavery in the 1800s dismisses the Islamic takeover of the American Embassy in 1979 as an old grievance.

Another said his brother lives in England, where Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately called the American and Israeli attacks on the Ayatollah’s regime “illegal” but, as the head of the Crown Prosecution Service took years to do the same of Muslim rape (grooming) gangs in the country.

(Starmer announced a national “statutory inquiry” in June 2025).

Offensive lineman Shar Pourdanesh of the Washington Redskins looks on from the sideline during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium on Sept. 7, 1997, in Pittsburgh. The Steelers defeated the Redskins 14-13. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)

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Pourdanesh Calls Out NFL Silence

And finally, Pourdanesh put the NFL on blast. He said in yet another post that during his career, the NFL asked him to honor black history, asked him to stand for women’s rights, asked him to fight for equality for those who cannot defend themselves.

“I did everything they asked, and now I ask the NFL this: Where are you now? Why haven’t we heard a single word out of the NFL? NFL, Commissioner Roger Goodell, all the NFL teams out there, all the players who say they stand for social justice, where are you now?

“Why haven’t we heard a single word out of you with regard to the people who have been killed as of today? The very values you claim to espouse are being trampled right now. Why haven’t we heard a single word?”

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