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Cowboys Icon Michael Irvin Offers Kooky Take On Corona ... Beer

Dallas Cowboys Icon Michael Irvin, Trying To 'Wear The Hat' of A Comedian, Offers A Kooky Take On Corona ... Beer
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FRISCO - Michael Irvin is, of course, my guy. For 30 years now, he's been a thrill to watch do his thing, a valued vault of football information that helps me do my job, and a friend.

Irvin is one of the two of three greatest wide receivers of all-time, in my opinion, the greatest team leader I've ever been around, and uniquely clever and funny. So when Irvin took to Twitter the other day to call out a particular brand of beer that sounds like "coronavirus'' but actually has nothing at all to do with COVID-19, he had to be joking, right?

Right?

Right.

Irvin wrote, "Since I am not a beer drinker. maybe it’s just me. But I believe that ⁦@corona⁩ beer SHOULD NOT be running their commercials at this time. Sorry I don’t want to hear how a Corona gets it’s lime while the Coronavirus is getting lives.''

Yes, he was joking. It is not a particularly tasteful or even clever joke, and yes, Irvin is aware that "corona'' means "crown'' and that the virus has nothing to do with the beer.

The biggest error comes in this form: There are literally people who do not know that, who will be misguided by Michael's joke, and therefore a company (with Michael @'ing them and all) figures to suffer unnecessarily. ... as most of us are about to suffer, either health-wise or financially.

Irvin is Irvin. He doesn't need a lecture on sensitivity, and he's simply trying to be entertaining. It appears Michael has removed the original tweet, tried to explain the joke, and carried on ...

With some more jokes.

One big lesson here is about how difficult it is for a public figure to "wear multiple hats'' and for his audience to know which hat is which. Had a professional comedian - Jerry Seinfeld or Chris Rock, say - told a "Corona'' joke, we might not have laughed. But we'd have certainly recognized, because of the "hat'' they wear, that it was intended as a joke.

This is a time in which we need sensitivity and in which we need some laughs. Let's all carry on trying to carefully balance both. And yes, that goes for Michael Irvin and the "multiple hats'' I know he's capable of wearing.