When Brandon Aiyuk posted another video lobbying for a move to the Washington Commanders, it seemed like just another episode in his public standoff with the San Francisco 49ers.
Then two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy stepped in and put the situation in a much different light, invoking names like boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Kyrie Irving — turning the wide receiver into something of a revolutionary.
LeSean McCoy Compares Brandon Aiyuk’s 49ers Situation to Kyrie Irving and Muhammad Ali
In a recent segment on “Speakeasy” with Emmanuel Acho, McCoy, who won the Lombardi Trophy with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, put his entire support behind Aiyuk in his feud with the 49ers.
“I ain’t going to lie. He became my favorite wide receiver,” McCoy said. “I like it, man. It’s time to fight back. Don’t let these ownerships, just start to own you. Them days is over with.”
“So if you want to move and go to a different team, why not? Let’s go, Commanders,” he added. “It’s because, look, man, things didn’t work out in San Francisco. Really good coach, really good organization, but it didn’t work out. So let me leave.”
The comments came shortly after Aiyuk posted another Commanders-themed video on social media.
“Man, what’s up everybody? I had a great Father’s Day,” Aiyuk said. “And before I lay down and go to bed tonight, I just wanted to say, go Commanders! Go Commanders, man. Go Commanders! Raise hail! Take command!”
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The video was the latest in a series of public hints that Aiyuk wants to go to the national capital, where he could reunite with former Arizona State teammate Jayden Daniels.
McCoy then took his defense of Aiyuk a step further. While acknowledging that the receiver signed a lucrative four-year, $120 million extension with the 49ers in 2024 before a season-ending injury, the former NFL running back argued that outsiders do not know everything that has happened behind the scenes.
The former NFL star explained that he is reluctant to judge Aiyuk too harshly because of a lesson he learned from Kyrie Irving during the NBA guard’s turbulent spell with the Brooklyn Nets.
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“I was judging Kyrie Irving because he was supposed to play for the [Brooklyn] Nets,” McCoy said. “He didn’t play, not because he was hurt, or something’s going on; it was stuff that was happening outside of basketball, dealing with other black people… social justice.”
“I was like, this dude’s tripping,” he added. “But then I had a chance to meet with him, and we talked.”
McCoy said Irving taught him that some athletes are willing to sacrifice millions of dollars if they strongly believe in a cause or principle. McCoy then invoked Muhammad Ali, pointing to the boxing legend’s willingness to risk his career and earnings while standing by his beliefs.
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“Same thing with Muhammad Ali,” McCoy added. “People say what they want, but for him, he believes in whatever he believes in with his religion. I’m fighting for that. And I’m going to jeopardize me losing my license to box or my money.”
Irving’s final years with the Nets were marked by controversies over his stance on COVID-19 vaccination and later allegations of antisemitism for sharing a link to the 2018 movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” both of which led to significant professional and financial consequences.
Ali, meanwhile, famously sacrificed years of his boxing career after refusing U.S military induction during the Vietnam War because it was against his religious beliefs as a Muslim.
Strangely, McCoy believes that for this reason, there may be more to Aiyuk’s public fallout with the 49ers.
“If he [Aiyuk] is that focused on throwing shots at the Niners to go to Washington to play, it’s something that happened to him that, for him, it’s a big reason why he’s leaving,” McCoy added. “The way he might go about it might be different than the way we might go about it.”
San Francisco has reportedly remained open to trade discussions but has shown little indication that it plans to simply release the former first-round pick. With training camp approaching and Aiyuk’s social media antics only escalating, the receiver’s future remains one of the biggest unresolved storylines surrounding the 49ers.
