Earlier today, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle published an article entitled "49ers' Reid says he's considered leaving NFL because of concussions."
Reid stated on Twitter that Branch had twisted his words for the article and taken them out of context saying that it was "not an accurate portrayal of my words."
That article's title was later changed to "Reid, too, mulled giving up football."
In defense, Branch added the following to the article after the fact.
After this story was posted online Tuesday, Reid said on Twitter that it was an "inaccurate portrayal" of his words because they had been twisted and taken out of context. The Chronicle requested to speak with Reid so he could clarify his comments. He declined the request through a team spokesman.
Reading the article, you can certainly see where Reid may have a case. The only quote by Reid within the article that can possibly be taken as a retirement consideration is the following.
"If I have another concussion and I don't feel like I can play anymore, then I won't."
Of course, this does not indicate that Reid had considered (past tense) retirement and it is unknown if there were other factors that gave Branch the impression that he had. We only know that Reid feels his words were twisted.
Reid later Tweeted, "Just to be clear, I NEVER SAID, 'I've given some thought to leaving the NFL'" at Branch.
The story was later picked up by the national media including NFL.com and Pro Football Talk.
Below are Reid's Tweets regarding the article.
The media always finds a way to twist your words...they just want you to click on their article
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) June 10, 2015
@Eric_Branch I don't appreciate the way you twisted and took my words out of context in your article. I've always respected your job by...
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) June 10, 2015
@Eric_Branch answering your questions. Your article was not an accurate portrayal of my words
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) June 10, 2015
Just to be clear, I NEVER SAID, "I've given some thought to leaving the NFL." @Eric_Branch
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) June 10, 2015