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The New York Jets have not given their fanbase a lot to cheer for over the past decade-plus, but one bright spot on the current team is defensive back Sauce Gardner.
Gardner, who the Jets selected with the fourth overall pick in 2022, has lived up to the hype, earning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and was named a first-team All-Pro, the first rookie cornerback to do so since Ronnie Lott in 1981.
The 23-year-old out of Cincinnati followed up his big rookie season with another selection to the Pro Bowl after being named a first-team All-Pro again in 2023.
So it is certainly understandable that Jets fans were sent into a bit of a panic after their star cornerback Sauce Gardner shared a video on social media of himself golfing in a literal thunderstorm.
“If the rain doesn’t stop football games, why would I let it stop my round of golf? WE DRIVE THE GREEEEN!!!” Sauce Gardner wrote on X (Twitter).
If the rain doesn't stop football games, why would I let it stop my round of golf? WE DRIVE THE GREEEEN!!! 🏌🏾🫡 pic.twitter.com/VcYqQNi4Ud
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) June 30, 2024
Yes, that was a flash of lightning that occurred right after Gardner hit his drive.
“Sir, you are holding a lightning rod in your hands,” one viewer commented with concern. “Golfers have been struck my lightning because they are holding a club. Don’t do this.”
“BRO, you got the club straight in the air when the lightening flashes,” another worried fan wrote. “BE F—— CAREFUL PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.”
no editing, no photoshop. This is the moment that lightning struck and you CAN die this way. pic.twitter.com/lwi06k4R4D
— Farmer Stoolie (@BearLovesKer) June 30, 2024
“Jets CB1 getting cooked by lightning and missing the entire season would be ridiculously on brand,” read another comment.
“Out on the course in a thunderstorm ignoring the horn,” another person wrote. “Delete this tweet before the NFLPA sees it, go back to the clubhouse, and get a drink man.”
According to the National Lightning Safety Council, golf is one of the 12 activities (they call the Deadly Dozen) that have led to the most deaths over the past 17 years when it comes to lightning-related fatalities.
And just so you (and Sauce Gardner) know, “According to data from 2006-2023, nearly half of the golf-related fatalities involved the victim trying to find shelter underneath a tree during a storm – something that safety experts strongly advise against.”