Stephon Gilmore’s Wife Refutes Adam Schefter Report Of His Dinner With Cam Newton
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
According to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter last week, New England Patriots teammates Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore had dinner together on the same night Newton later found out he had tested positive for COVID-19.
In the aftermath of that report, it was then assumed assumed that Gilmore had caught the virus from Newton following his own positive test a few days later.
Fast forward to this Tuesday, Gilmore’s wife Gabrielle came out to debunk the whole story over Twitter.
“There was no dinner out, I’m going to help you out so you guys stop reporting false news”, Gabrielle wrote in a tweet quoting an article by NESN’s Doug Kyed that featured the Schefter report.
There was no dinner out, I’m going to help you out so you guys stop reporting false news https://t.co/k9UxrnVWoQ
— Gabrielle Gilmore ❥ (@Eneekonese) October 13, 2020
“I’ve seen it circulating a couple times and now I’m annoyed,” she followed up a short time later.
I’ve seen it circulating a couple times and now I’m annoyed lol https://t.co/9DXe5WTQMP
— Gabrielle Gilmore ❥ (@Eneekonese) October 13, 2020
On Wednesday, Schefter (sort of) stood by his report, telling Boston’s WEEI, “Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore had dinner Friday night, I don’t know where they ate, but they had dinner together Friday night.”
“I was doing a radio show. I don’t remember the specific language that I said. I thought I said that they had dinner together. Maybe I said they were out to dinner. I don’t remember, OK, the semantics, again, because I don’t know exactly where they had dinner, to be perfectly frank. But I don’t believe it was out to dinner, like out in Boston. Right, but they had dinner together on Friday night.”
Schefter then provided (some) clarity to the purpose of his report, which he doesn’t even view as one, but still held firm that the dinner actually took place.
“Well I have great respect for Stephon Gilmore and Mrs. Gilmore. I am not looking to refute anybody, they weren’t out to dinner but I’m just going to say that — and I don’t know why this is an issue. Like, Cam Newton tested positive early Saturday morning. The night before, Stephon Gilmore and Cam Newton had dinner. That’s all. They didn’t do anything wrong. There is nothing to that. They had dinner. What’s the problem? Like, you can eat dinner with somebody that later tests positive. It’s nobody’s fault. But they did have dinner Friday night. It wasn’t reported. I was basically on another radio station when it came up, and at that moment, it came up at the point that Stephon Gilmore had just tested positive or was placed on the list, whatever it was. And I was asked about it, and I said, ‘Well that’s interesting. He did have dinner with Cam on Friday night.’ So it wasn’t a report. It wasn’t anything. It was just a fact. That’s all it is. I’m not trying to upset anybody. I’m not trying to point any fingers. Not making any accusations. They had dinner Friday night. What’s the big deal?”
Regardless of what actually happened during…#dinnergate (eye roll), Newton’s positive test did set off a ripple effect of changes for the Patriots in the days that followed.
The teams matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs was pushed off until Monday, October 5th and the team took two separate planes to Missouri the day of the game, with everyone who came in close contact with Newton on one plane.
Two days later, Gilmore tested positive for the virus and the Patriots matchup with the Denver Broncos was later pushed off a week as the team was placed on an unexpected bye.
As of this posting, both Newton and Gilmore remain on the teams COVID-19 reserve list and their statuses for this Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos is unknown, but both would be eligible to play.
Posted Under: Patriots News
Tags: Cam Newton Stephon Gilmore
