Dak Prescott, the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, just won the 2022 Walter Payton award, which is for charitable work. It’s meant to honor both a player’s commitment to philanthropy and the community impact of that charitable work. But, despite his good works, Prescott was booed when he accepted the award during Super Bowl LVII. Reporting on the award, WFAA said:
Last Thursday, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott won the 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, which honors players for their charitable work off the field.
Prescott was named the recipient of this year’s award for his work through his Faith Fight Finish (FFF) Foundation. Its main initiatives include focusing on colon cancer research, mental health and suicide prevention.
Given that he’s done enough charitable work to receive the award, you’d think fans would have cheered Prescott. Not so much. The Eagles were one of the teams playing at the game and the Eagles fans there to watch were no fans of the Cowboys QB, so they showered the field with boos.
Eagles fans booing Dak Prescott getting Man of the Year is the perfect fan response. no notes.
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) February 12, 2023
Dak Prescott gets booed out by the Super Bowl crowd as he was awarded the Walter Peyton Man of the Year trophy 👀pic.twitter.com/g7fXvGwxM1
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) February 12, 2023
As the caption shows, it was last year’s winner of the Walter Payton award, Andrew Whitworth, who presented Prescott with this year’s award. He said, when doing so, “Being named Walter Payton Man of the Year is one of the highest honors of my entire career. And now let me welcome your newest Walter Payton Man of the Year, Dak Prescott.”
But the fans were booing, quite bad manners on their part, so Prescott awkwardly smiled while accepting it, but then started chuckling as the booing got louder and hugged Whitworth. At least he had a pleasant attitude about the fans’ bad behavior and took it in stride.
Come on man. Dak Prescott introduced as Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner and booed heavily. You don’t have to be a fan of his playing but give it up for his community service. He’s a good dude. Come on
— Matthew Berry (@MatthewBerryTMR) February 12, 2023
Fox News Digital, reporting on the incident, said:
The crowd at Super Bowl LVII appears to have its fair share of game Eagles fans in the stands.
Philadelphia fans certainly are not fond of the Cowboys or any player of the rival team including Dak Prescott. The quarterback was on the football field before the big game kicked off to accept the Walter Payton Man of the Year trophy.
But shortly after he was introduced, loud boos could be heard throughout State Farm Stadium.
The New York Post told a similar story in its report on the incident, saying:
That’s tough.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was booed mercilessly as he was honored at Super Bowl 2023 for being named the 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.
Prescott powered through the cold welcome with a smile as he was honored on the field at State Farm Arena in Glendale, Ariz. before the Chiefs and Eagles faced off in the big game. Although Fox Sports cameras didn’t show the booing fans, it’s safe to assume Philadelphia fans were enjoying the moment.
After former Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth — the 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year — introduced Prescott, he stepped forward and waved to the crowd. When the boos became louder, the quarterback began laughing before he shared a hug with Whitworth.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
Featured image credit: screenshot from embedded video
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