After a touchdown in the Sunday Night Game between the 49ers and Cowboys, tight end George Kittle showed fans a T-shirt that read “F*** Dallas”. Since then, a Cowboys superstar, Deebo Samuel and the NFL have weighed in. The old rivalry, it lives!

George Kittle and the San Francisco 49ers had an easy game against the Dallas Cowboys in the Sunday Night Game. San Francisco dominated with 42:10 and the tight end contributed significantly to the victory with three touchdowns.

However, the 49ers star triggered a heated controversy with one action: After Niners running back Jordan Mason’s touchdown to make the final score 42-10, Kittle turned towards the fans, revealing a T-shirt under his jersey that read “F*** Dallas”.

“I think it’s just a coincidence that it appeared on my chest on Sunday Night Football of all nights,” Kittle joked afterwards on the “Pat McAfee Show.”

In truth, he was inspired by ex-49ers linebacker Gary Plummer, who wore a similar shirt in the 1994 NFC Championship Game between Dallas and San Francisco, Kittle explained in the interview. Back then, the 49ers beat the Cowboys 38-28 en route to their fifth and, to date, last Super Bowl title.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan dismissed the shirt as “WWE stuff, entertainment” at the post-game press conference, but Cowboys superstar Micah Parsons took Kittle’s action as a provocation and countered on his podcast, The Edge: “He just makes it a lot more personal than it needs to be.”

“Kittle’s my man, but I say laugh now, cry later […] You want to make it personal? We can make it personal,” the All-Pro linebacker threatened.

Kittles’ teammate Deebo Samuel also weighed in on the spat: “It was personal before the game. 42-10 – I don’t think they want to see us again. It could get worse,” he said in an interview with NFL reporter Kay Adams.

NFL: Will George Kittle be punished?

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, the NFL is reportedly considering fining Kittle for the shirt action. Under current guidelines, the league can fine players up to $10,927 for “personal messages”, Schefter reports.

The shirt controversy, meanwhile, has reignited one of the NFL’s great historic rivalries. A renewed clash between the 49ers and Cowboys in the playoffs would be an absolute highlight not only for the teams’ players and fans, but also for all outsiders.
Dallas safety Jayron Kearse, on the other hand, did not feel provoked: “We let him into the end zone. He chose to cheer like that. The only way to stop that is to keep him out of the end zone. I have no problem with what he did,” Kearse commented on The Athletic.”