Emily Mayfield Addresses Criticism of Baker Mayfield in Instagram Message
In the wake of the Cleveland Browns loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Emily Mayfield, the wife of quarterback Baker Mayfield as well as a recurring character in his Progressive Commercials, took to her Instagram to send a message to Browns fans in defense of her husband.
She looks at it from the perspective of both the wife of the team's quarterback as well as trying to take a larger, more disconnected look. The Browns lost a game 47-42. It was an incredibly entertaining game and someone had to lose. Unfortunately for the Browns, they were on the short end of the stick.
Going more into the mode of being a wife who hates seeing her husband constantly criticizes, she discusses how much he gives to this team and how badly he wants to win, often in spite of substantial criticism. She then pleads with fans to support the team.
The problem for Mayfield is the fans and critics she is trying to reach will likely note that she's the wife of a player being criticized and that all players face criticism, which makes normalizes it.
As a result, it's unclear how much impact this will have on the target audience and may simply be perceived as whining as opposed to truly considering her point of view.
This season, the Browns as a team have faced a significant amount of criticism even when they win, which has certainly included the quarterback, which likely only adds to Mayfield's frustrations as a wife. Winning isn't good enough. Losing is unforgivable.
The issues Mayfield is touching on may go far deeper than an Instagram message is going to be able to address. And ultimately, the Browns are a team that has expectations and the only way to meet them is to play better and win. Baker Mayfield has shown he has been up to that challenge in the past, so that is what many are hoping he can do now.
