Some in social media play fast and loose with Penix Jr. answer to reporter’s question.
Nov 14, 2025
Some loosely written posts on X (Twitter) ignited some controversy over a portion of a press conference last Wendesday with Falcons starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Those posts are garnering a lot of attention, and derision at a time the Falcons are trying to concentrate on getting a much-needed win against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday.
Penix Jr. was asked by WSB TV sports reporter Alison Mastrangelo about who he relies on to help him assess his on-field performance. His response was given a sensationalized or less-than-truthful interpretation by some sports-minded X posters.
This is an actual transcript of the conversation from the press conference via the Falcons YouTube page. Here is a link to the presser, with the discussion below starting at the 12:16th minute on the clip.
Alison Mastrangelo: “I know you lean on your faith, but like who do you lean on to like help you? Like we haven’t played quarterbacks. Would you lean on like a former quarterback or your coaches to kind of just help you kind of assess things and good and bad?”
Michael Penix Jr.: “Um, you saying like as far as on the field?”
A. M. : “Yeah, both. Does that help you mentally and physically?”
M. P. X. Jr. “Oh, um, no. Like mentally I like my fiance, she’s always there for me. Um, so I know whenever I get home, it doesn’t matter how I played, she’s always going to be there for me. She’s going to have a smile on her face and give me a hug and and make me feel good no matter what. Um but as far as you know, as far as like physically the on the field stuff, um it’s it’s not nobody that I’ll talk to like as far as another quarterback or anything like that. You know, I do have uh people reach out to me. I do have quarterback coaches though back at home um that that reach out to me as well, you know, tell me, “Hey, like you need to clean this up, clean that up, you know, and everything will be good.” So, uh, those those guys helped me as far as that, too. So, I can shout out them.”
Some on social media had a different interpretation of what Penix Jr. said.
One X poster even commented that the 2nd-year Falcons quarterback “has no friends.”
The Atlanta sports press mostly criticized these social media-based hot takes. WZGC Host Mike Bell said, “Total bullshit! We explained it yesterday. Totally taken out of context” on his account, and AJC Falcons reporter D. Orlando Ledbetter agreed. “Absolute bs trash,” Ledbetter posted to Bell’s comment.
Mastrangelo posted the full question and answer video clip that aired on WSB’s Action News this evening. As of 5 pm, November 14th, the clip received 14 thousand views on X.
Watch the video and read the statement above for yourself, and remember, just because it comes from someone with a blue (or gold) checkmark on X doesn’t mean they are a reliable source for the facts.
UPDATE (Nov 14) ESPN Falcons beat writer Marc Raimondi spoke to Penix Jr.’s coaches on the controversy.
Raheem Morris, Falcons coach
POST 1: #Falcons coach Raheem Morris called the misappropriation of a Penix video clip this week “a joke.” He said he and Penix were laughing about it at practice. “I just feel bad for the kid,” Morris said, because he has had to deal with the discourse.
POST 2: Morris on the Penix clip: “Stop looking for stuff on a young man. You don’t need this stuff on him. It is what it is. But all of those things people do. It doesn’t matter to affect this building. I just feel bad for the kid. I don’t want the kid having to deal with stuff that doesn’t matter or stuff that’s not real. … Let his problems be his problems, like third downs. Let’s fix those. Don’t make up [a thing] that doesn’t exist.” #Falcons
DJ Williams, Falcons QB Coach
Falcons QB coach DJ Williams on the Penix clip that went viral this week: “I joke with the quarterback room, I’m like, ‘Bro, I see y’all more than I see my kids.’ So, if we don’t have some vulnerable conversations and you can’t be sensitive, I can’t be sensitive, we’ve got to talk every single day. So all those guys, we talk every single day, you know what I mean? Probably more than I talk to a lot of people.”
