The already strange story of the cash-grab scheme orchestrated by a man pretending to be a San Francisco 49ers player named Daejon Love continues to get stranger.
It now seems that the 49ers’ alleged understanding of the incident doesn’t like up to the facts, according to one of Love’s victims.
ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler reported Tuesday night that Gwen Herndon submitted a “complaint/concern” form about Love via the 49ers’ website back in December, eight months before Love’s eventual arrest.
In the complains, Herndon wrote, “there is a federal investigation surrounding a man pretending to be a 49ers player,” and that Love is “severely damaging the reputation of your team.”
The 49ers responded to the complaint with an email response that read, “For safety and legal reasons, the team cannot comment on ongoing investigations or specific individuals. However, we appreciate you bringing this to our attention and encouraging proactive measures to protect the integrity of the organization.
“If you have information that could assist law enforcement or legal authorities, we encourage you to contact the appropriate agencies directly. Our internal team will also monitor any instances of impersonation and take action as appropriate to protect fans and the team’s reputation,” the email added.
Herndon told ESPN that she had no further contact with the 49ers after the email response.
The 49ers had previously told ESPN that the team had not received reports about Love before being contacted by the FBI in August.
In other words, Herndon’s claim and the 49ers’ response does not line up. The 49ers were contacted by ESPN about this on Tuesday night but didn’t offer comment, citing the ongoing FBI investigation.
If Herndon’s claims are true, it’s not a good look that the 49ers’ public response to the Love scams contradicts how they handled matters behind closed doors.
It seems there’s still more to come from what has already been a wild story.
