PETA sends 49ers George Kittle ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ over killing of spider
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- PETA's SVP Lisa Lange criticized Kittle's post about killing a spider.
- Kittle described killing a bathroom spider at about 4 a.m. with a slant board.
- PETA said it would send Kittle a humane bug catcher, listed online at $14.99.
On Thursday, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle received a new kind of “unsportsmanlike conduct” penalty.
This one wasn’t from a referee at the cost of 15 yards, like the NFL star previously received for things like wearing a T-shirt under his jersey saying “F Dallas.” This time, it came from Lisa Lange, senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, stemming from a social media post from Kittle describing his killing of a spider in the middle of the night.
“Spiders are tiny compared to the average human, let alone an NFL player, and have a lot more to fear from us than we do from them, so there’s no need for unnecessary roughness,” Lange said in the statement, first reported by the New York Post. “PETA is urging George Kittle to drop the unsportsmanlike conduct and adopt a live and let live approach when it comes to uninvited arachnid guests.”
About 4 a.m. Wednesday, Kittle said in a post on X that he was woken up by his wife, Claire, who stumbled upon a spider he said was the “size of a half dollar” in the bathroom. To slay the spider, Kittle said he used a slant board he was using for rehab from the right Achilles tear he sustained Jan. 11 during a wild card matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“It took but 1 attempt to strike down my opponent,” Kittle said in the post. “I received hugs and kisses for my bravery and fell back asleep with confidence. Have a day gentlemen.”
In a reply to Kittle’s post, PETA said it would send the tight end a “humane bug catcher.” Under the product, listed for $14.99 on PETA’s website, the catcher is described as for “a compassionate person who wouldn’t hurt a fly and (whose) motto is ‘live and let live,’ even when it comes to tiny, six-legged, uninvited house guests.”
On its website, PETA recommends using the humane bug catcher, or using a cup and sheet of paper when trying to remove a large bug from a home, rather than killing it.
“George Kittle should’ve just taken me outside,” a speech bubble next to a spider reads on a Friday social media post from PETA.
