HOUSTON, Texas — Some believe the Houston Texans fumbled by posting photo-shopped images of two players holding Matzah bread instead of footballs to the team's social media.
The post includes the caption “Happy Passover to all who celebrate!”
“I think they’re trying to be funny but I can see how people would take offense to it,” said Thomas Welham of Houston.
"It’s a little jarring to see them photoshopped in there," said Charlie Nater. "But I'm not offended by it.”
“I think there’s too much negativity in the world and people should just live and let live,” said Samantha Sutton.
“I thought it was great,” said Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of the Torah Outreach Resource Center of Houston, or TORCH. "People need to lighten up a little."
He spoke with us while preparing for his own family’s Passover dinner, or Seder, complete with lots of Matzah, which sustained Jewish people during their exodus from Egypt.
"It was like a rush, rush, rush so we didn’t have time for the bread to rise and Matzah is the unleavened, unrisen bread,” said Wolbe.
He appreciated the dialogue created by the Texans' post and any educational opportunities that may follow.
"There are many people who don’t know that it’s Passover and I think it’s a fun way for them to learn, to learn a little bit,” said Wolbe.
The Sports Illustrated-related website, The Spun, was among the first to write about the post taking off online.
"There are some contexts through which, you know, some people might feel offended,” said staff writer Tzvi Machlin.
But he believes The Texans may have won either way.
"While some people are saying that the person who wrote it should probably lose their job," said Machlin. "I think, if anything, maybe they’ve earned a promotion for getting so many clicks in such a short amount of time.”
The Evelyn Rubenstein JCC in Houston said it loved the post and shared it.
We reached out to The Texans for a response to the negative comments but have not heard back.