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Yeah, you read that headline correctly. There's a lot to get to here, so let's just roll with the facts.
- Cornerback D.J. Moore might be the most endearingly eccentric member of the Chicago Bears. He is widely considered the best quote on the team. He also spends a discernible amount of his own free time retweeting the type of crazies who get at athletes and/or celebrities on Twitter with pleas for an RT. Moore often obliges, because he is the nickleback of the people.
- Moore started training camp in lovely Bourbonnais, Illinois this July on a mission: he wanted to find a TV "so I don't drive myself crazy looking at the walls." Fair enough. Moore tweeted out the request, but wouldn't get what he was looking for until a random encounter with a fan on the streets of Bourbonnais. Moore was signing autographs and asked the crowd if anyone had a TV he could borrow. One guy agreed, and all he wanted was a pair of Moore's cleats.
- Moore, who will be a free agent at the end of the year, began this season where he ended the last one: as the Bears' go-to nickleback. It's an important position in Lovie Smith's Cover-2, and Moore seemingly got off to a nice enough start. He had an interception in the Bears' Monday night rout of the Cowboys in Week 4 and another one two games later against the Lions, also a Monday night affair. But since then, Moore has apparently fallen out of favor with the coaching staff.
- Moore did not play during the Bears' loss to the Houston Texans and was inactive against 49ers on Monday. When the news that Moore wouldn't play hit on Monday, I tweeted:
Sources say D.J. Moore is inactive because he never returned that dude's TV in Bourbonnais.
— Ricky O'Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) November 20, 2012
This was a joke, maybe a bad one, but isn't that what Twitter is for? Twitter is for the jokes that would get you booed off stage. And yes, I saw someone tweet that a few weeks ago.
Like almost everything on Twitter, this was sent out to the world with little thought. I didn't even contemplate that it would have possible repercussions. Ohhh, but there were repercussions.
After the thorough ass-kicking at the hands of the 49ers finally ended, I powered down and tried to forget what I had just witnessed. But before going to bed, I checked Twitter one last time. I found this:
Dude if u don't know PLEASE don't talk!! I hope u RT it so all ur followers know u a liar @sbn_ricky He sign it too. twitter.com/Bearfan4ever00…
— J Delgado (@Bearfan4ever001) November 20, 2012
Ha! So there: Moore did give back the TV, and this dude has the autograph to prove it. I have no doubt this man is a huge Bears fan, because his handle is @Bearfan4ever001 but also because his Twitter avatar is a picture of him and Chris Williams.
Chris Williams!
[Ed. note: Mr. Delgado has chimed in to say it's actually Lance Briggs in his picture. My bad.]
And now u know I'm a liar. Or just bad at making jokes.
Ricky O'Donnell is the editor of SB Nation Chicago. Follow him on Twitter or reach him at richardpodonnell@gmail.com.