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Remember last week when Jimmy Butler was traded to the Timberwolves and people were all pissed off at him for leaving the Bulls in such a lopsided deal? And remember how Butler later gave out his REAL phone number so all of his critics could contact him directly?
Timberwolves' Jimmy Butler gives out his phone number at intro press conference and encourages critics to call him directly pic.twitter.com/gLxYVJWvx1
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 29, 2017
Yeah, well, apparently that move isn’t working out so well for a man named Michael Byrne of Evanston, Illinois.
That’s because while Butler has been busy fielding texts and talking to fans on FaceTime…
…Mr. Byrne has been getting inundated with phone calls thanks to his phone number being almost identical.
According to NBC Chicago…
Byrne, whose number is one digit off from the one that Butler shared with fans, was charging his phone at his home in Evanston when he heard it repeatedly going off.
“At first I heard my phone going off a bunch. When I checked it, I already had 37 missed calls,” he says. “I got calls from Arkansas, Florida, New York City, and all over the country. I got voice mails and text messages all saying how much they supported me.”
In all, Byrne says he has received at least 100 voicemails and over 150 text messages since Butler shared his phone number with fans.
“That’s the strange part. They’re calling the wrong number,” he says. “None of the calls or messages have been mean or harassing, but I can’t even use my phone.”
Hilarious, right? Hang on though, here’s the best part…
“I don’t follow sports, so I didn’t know who Jimmy Butler was,” Byrne says. “I had to Google his name, and then I saw that he had shared his number.”
Byrne is currently between jobs right now so he can’t even change his phone number for fear that a potential employer might call.
He did call the Timberwolves and even the number Butler gave out, but so far he hasn’t had any success slowing the flow of calls.
“I kind of see what these celebrities go through being harassed by fans,” he said. “I’ve had people offering to sell me houses in Minneapolis, or bar owners wanting me to come in for a drink. It’s like a plot to a bad movie.”
Sounds like a plot to a great movie to me. Then again, I’m not the one with my phone getting blown up all day long.
H/T Total Pro Sports