Is Justin Herbert distracted? Is he compromised after getting engaged to pop singer Madison Beer? Can he possibly concentrate on football with Beer visiting him at training camp and petting his face and rubbing grass off his arm?
Last week, two videos of Beer and Herbert, who announced their engagement July 28, interacting at Chargers training camp went viral as fans reacted to what they were seeing. But what were they actually witnessing? Instead of acting like we're body language experts, we went out and found a legitimate expert to tell us what this all means and if the Chargers are about to go 8-9, as fans screamed.
"Being soft with your partner doesn't mean that you're being soft in competition," Dr. Abbie Maroño, a behavioral scientist who trains the U.S. Secret Service and FBI, told OutKick. "Real mental strength and emotional softness with your partner — they're not the opposite. That ability to be affectionate with your partner has absolutely nothing to do with how fierce you can be and how competitive you can be at work whatsoever."
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In the first video that turned into a firestorm, Beer is seen seemingly petting her future husband who is under contract for $52.5 million per season through 2029.
"My first reaction is that social media has taken a very normal, affectionate interaction... and if you look at the comments and the discussion, they've turned into something much bigger," our body language expert noted.
"Madison is very clearly very tactile, and she's openly very affectionate and comfortable with affection. And Justin appears more reserved. But there are some comments of 'he rejects her touch and he tries to distance himself.' And that's just not what the body language shows at all.
"They sit very close together. She faces him, she's touching his hair. She's comfortable, comfortable in his space, and the kind of touch that she shows is reserved for when we feel extremely close. It's playful, familiar, affectionate."
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Some of you might think this is all ridiculous, but Dr. Abbie assures us that professional gamblers she's studied use body language as a tell before placing bets.
Those gamblers will look for body language cues during pregame routines. Studying a quarterback's body language with his girlfriend, or wife, in early August just might become a new reality.
"I actually did a lot of research in sports because there was studies showing that coaches, when they're picking a player, they actually pick them based on minor body language movements — not during the game, but prior to the game. And when it comes to betting, you're able to see who is likely to do really well prior to the game based on body language assessment," Maroño, who trains the FBI on how to read body language during raids, continued.
Does Herbert, who threw 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions a year ago, exhibit any signs that should be of concern? Are there body language weaknesses with the Chargers sitting on a 9.5 win total at many casinos? Will a pending marriage throw off Herbert's concentration?
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"I think that the public is taking tenderness and translating it into weakness, and that says more about the audience than it does about Justin," Maroño contends. She doesn't disagree that the engagement thing could present issues down the road, but based on what she analyzed in the viral videos, it doesn't prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt.
"Now, does giving time to something take time from something else? Absolutely, yes. If you are spending a lot of time with your partner, yes, you do have less time to practice, but that's up to the individual to find the balance."
