Garth Brooks’ ‘Sanders 20’ jersey wasn’t for Bernie — but angry comments still came in
No, Garth Brooks didn’t go out of his way to show support for Sen. Bernie Sanders, despite what many people thought.
The country music legend posted a photo of himself on Instagram and Facebook wearing a Barry Sanders jersey following his concert last weekend in Detroit.
Barry Sanders is a former star player for the Detroit Lions.
But the Lions running back wore the number 20, fooling many fans of Brooks. When Brooks showed off the back of his jersey that reads “Sanders 20,” fans ripped Brooks for thinking he was donning a jersey repping the presidential candidate running for the 2020 Democratic nomination.
“Nothing like supporting a communist to lose a few fans,” one person wrote.
“If that’s a Bernie shirt I just lost a lot of respect for you,” chimed in another fan.
“No Thanks! Trump 2020,” another woman said.
“If this is for Bernie Sanders, I’m done with you. I thought you were a true American that loves our country,” one commenter said.
“Sorry Garth, don’t think so. Stick to music,” said another person.
Dozens of others wrote to Brooks without realizing he was wearing the jersey of the Lions great.
Garth Brooks has a special connection to Barry Sanders. They both attended Oklahoma State University in the 1980s. Brooks graduated in 1984 while Sanders began his time there in 1986.
Plenty of people came to Brooks’ rescue, but it’s no telling if he’s lost some fans who were confused by his jersey.
“I had no idea you were a big freaking liberal socialist! I’ve listened to your songs for the last time!” said one commenter.
Another wrote, “If this is truly Garth, you just lost a fan.”
Reactions to the posts have gone viral. One person posted screenshots of comments on Twitter and received more than 127,000 likes in 16 hours.
Barry Sanders even tweeted after the viral posts. “Hey @garthbrooks, want to be my VP? #Number20For2020.”
Garth Brooks responded, Hey @BarrySanders I would run any race with you!”
And the Detroit Lions weighed in with their own endorsement.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 6:38 AM with the headline "Garth Brooks’ ‘Sanders 20’ jersey wasn’t for Bernie — but angry comments still came in."