Now at 7-3, it's been a tough season for the USC Trojans and Caleb Williams, and that manifested itself in the form of the Trojans signal caller, and likely No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, being consoled by his mother on the sidelines following a 52-42 loss to the Washington Huskies in Week 10.
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On Instagram, Williams spoke out about it.
For context, here's the clip of what happened below.
Oh wow, Caleb Williams is crying on the sidelines after losing to Washington.https://t.co/AGGR5MVnPg pic.twitter.com/luZBje8FQ8
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 5, 2023
This conjured a mixture of reactions from media personnel and former NFL players.
Former NFL quarterback and No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III came to his defense.
Watching Caleb Williams sobbing with his family after losing the game will BREAK YOUR HEART. This young man pours his heart out for his team EVERY TIME he plays. Any NFL team would be lucky to have him as their QB and this emotion shows how much this game means to him. @CALEBcsw pic.twitter.com/BLBBE9IvG9
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 5, 2023
"Watching Caleb Williams sobbing with his family after losing the game will BREAK YOUR HEART," said Griffin, also known as RG3. "This young man pours his heart out for his team EVERY TIME he plays. Any NFL team would be lucky to have him as their QB and this emotion shows how much this game means to him."
Meanwhile, former players like Robert Mathis couldn't agree with RG3's sentiments.
Sorry @RGIII (all love lil bro) but I gotta chalk this one up in the soft category. He ran and jumped in stance to his mommy and cried. I always tell players “I’ll never lie to em” and this is not the look you want from your trigger man. https://t.co/RSXleWdl0U
— ROBERT MATHIS QBH8r (@RobertMathis98) November 5, 2023
"Sorry @RGIII (all love lil bro) but I gotta chalk this one up in the soft category," Mathis said. "He ran and jumped in stance to his mommy and cried. I always tell players 'I'll never lie to em' and this is not the look you want from your trigger man."
Well, in response to all of this, Williams took to Instagram via the Caleb Cares Foundation account, saying, "Being an advocate for mental health and trying to show your emotions and express yourself - it's something that I've been doing since I was young, and now being on the national level, being able to try and share that awareness with the public and me doing just what I did on Saturday, even though it was far from what I was trying to do, it showed and spread that awareness."
The Caleb Cares Foundation "About" page reads, "From a young age Caleb fell in love with Superman. He believed he could do whatever Superman did and that belief is still alive today. Caleb believes deeply in helping the underdog. As founder of Caleb Cares, Caleb will dedicate his time and resources to eliminating bullying and empowering the underdog."
