If you're a public figure, one piece of advice should stick with you above all else: Never become the main character on Twitter. Sure, an NFL quarterback like Jayden Daniels might want to be the center of attention because of a great play or a thrilling victory, but that's very different from becoming a meme. That's exactly what Daniels has become, and it's entirely self-inflicted.
Here's the TL;DR on Daniels' current situation: Angry over LSU's decision to let sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett wear his No. 5 jersey, Daniels sent the Tigers a cease and desist letter informing the school they can no longer use his name, image and likeness.
Some have sided with the Heisman winner, considering Joe Burrow's No. 9 has not been reissued since he graduated, calling it a disrespect to go against Daniels' wishes. However, it seems a majority find the whole saga petty . LSU hasn't retired the No. 5 or No. 9 and Pickett was promised the number when he signed with the Tigers.
In the meantime, the jokes started pouring in.
We'll start with the most devastating tweet. New York Mets official account on X dropped the hammer on Daniels by posting the score graphic for their 4-1 win over the Nationals on Friday night: "Stopped at 4 out of respect for Jayden Daniels."
And the Mets weren't the only MLB team getting in on the fun. MASN's Orioles account credited Gunnar Henderson for his two-run homer on Friday like this: "Went from 4 to 6 runs out of respect for Jayden Daniels."
Minor League Baseball even joined the pile on while noting that a suspended game from the day before would resume on Friday at 5:05 p.m. in the fifth inning.
"Hope that's okay with Jayden Daniels."
The crux of the meme is this: We all need to ask Jayden Daniels permission to use the No. 5 from now on.
StubHub was one of the first major brands to make the joke on Thursday: "Effective immediately, we will no longer offer tickets in groups of 5. Out of respect for Jayden Daniels, we're only doing 4 or 6+. Thank you for your understanding."
Country music site Whiskey Riff joked about Alan Jackson changing the lyrics to "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" to "It's Four O'Clock Somewhere."
NASCAR Truck Series champs TRICON joked that Corey Heim would be driving the No. 4 truck instead of the No. 5.
Football teams were also all over it. Columbia football in FCS went viral for posting a picture of their field without the 5-yard line "out of respect for Jayden Daniels."
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL posted a picture of defensive end Willie Jefferson with the caption, "Hope Jayden Daniels is okay with us posting this." Jefferson wears No. 5.
Even tweets that weren't joking about the Jayden Daniels situation got flooded in the comments. Like when West Virginia announced a No. 5 Pat White Throwback jersey.
"Super disrespectful to Jayden Danies, but Pat was him."
"Did you get Jayden Daniels' permission?"
"What does Jayden Daniels think about this?"
"Did anyone think about Jayden Daniels?"
The memes are so pervasive, I half expect my mom to text me a Jayden Daniels 5 joke by the end of the day.
It just goes to show that some fights aren't worth bringing into the public eye. Was it worth it for Daniels to destroy his relationship with LSU over the No. 5 jersey? Was it worth having that dispute turn into the meme of the summer in the sports world?
This article was originally published on www.fansided.com as Best Jayden Daniels 5 memes as ex-LSU QB becomes laughing stock of the sports world .
