Kalyn Kahler went into the Seahawks locker room Sunday night looking to add some scene-setting details to her story about Sam Darnold winning the Super Bowl. The ESPN senior NFL writer came out with a story about crashing through a folding chair, falling into Darnold\u2019s locker, and knocking over his beer while the quarterback was mid-scrum with reporters.<\/p>\n
Darnold was the last player to enter the locker room after beating the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX. Kahler had already finished most of her story but wanted to grab some quotes from the quarterback for additional color. The problem was she couldn\u2019t hear anything Darnold was saying from the back of the media scrum that had formed around him, so she moved closer to his locker, looking for a better angle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kneel on the folding chair, and the folding chair collapsed underneath me,\u201d Kahler said during an appearance on 104.3 The Score<\/a>. \u201cYou should never trust a folding chair, honestly, but it collapsed right away, and I went hands first into his locker because it\u2019s like a cubby, it\u2019s like a stall. So, I went straight into his locker, and he had a beer sitting there, and I knocked his little beer.\u201d<\/p>\n @yahoosports<\/a> The small things matter \ud83d\udc4f #SuperBowl<\/a> #football<\/a> #nfl<\/a> #footballtiktok<\/a> #seattleseahawks<\/a> \u266c original sound \u2013 Yahoo Sports<\/a><\/p>\n It gets worse.<\/p>\n Darnold had clothes sitting in the locker that were about to get soaked, which meant he had to stop his interview mid-answer to deal with the spilled beer situation. The whole thing could have been embarrassing for everyone involved, but Darnold\u2019s reaction matched everything Kahler had already heard about him from teammates and coaches while covering the team.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had to kind of stop what he was doing because I think his clothes were sitting there and they were gonna get beer on them,\u201d Kahler said. \u201cSo, then he mopped up the beer. He was actually really nice about it. He was like, \u2018Are you OK?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m fine.\u2019 I was like, \u2018Sorry, I knocked your beer over,\u2019 and he was like, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about it. What\u2019s important is that you\u2019re OK.’\u201d<\/p>\n Darnold checking on Kahler before worrying about his beer or his clothes fits with the reputation he\u2019s built throughout his NFL career. When we covered his comments about his years with the Jets and Panthers<\/a> on The Dan Patrick Show ahead of the Super Bowl, Darnold talked about loving every part of his journey and being able to wake up the next day after losses and still enjoy being around his teammates. When Laura Rutledge clarified that Darnold wasn\u2019t blowing her off<\/a> during a postgame interview situation in January, she made sure to note<\/a> that he was just looking for Brock Purdy to say hello to his former teammate first.<\/p>\n The guy who won his first Super Bowl and had every reason to be celebrating with his beer in his locker instead spent time making sure a reporter who just crashed through a chair into his stuff was alright.<\/p>\n \u201cHappy to report Darnold is the nice guy we think he is and PSA to never ever trust a folding chair,\u201d Kahler wrote on X.<\/p>\n Happy to report Darnold is the nice guy we think he is \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02 and PSA to never ever trust a folding chair https:\/\/t.co\/mCwDme9bgJ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/K6hr1BEPMC<\/a><\/p>\n