During the 49ers’ annual “State of the Franchise” event for season ticket holders on Wednesday night, longtime San Francisco tackle Joe Staley shared a funny story of him accidentally punching NaVorro Bowman from earlier in the day, as reported by 49ers Webzone.
Staley was named athlete of the year during the team’s offseason program. As a tribute to him, the strength and conditioning staff created a large cardboard cutout of Staley and placed it in the locker room. At some point, Staley caught Bowman punching the cutout in the face.
“I’m sick of seeing his fat face,” Bowman said according to Staley, who recounted the quote with a smile. “I hate Joe.”
Staley responded jokingly with, “You punched the cardboard cutout? I’m going to punch you in the face for real.”
The offensive tackle then proceeded to jokingly swing at Bowman’s face without the intent of hitting him. Bowman leaned into the punch, however, causing Staley to connect, and accidentally make good on his claim. Staley admitted he was scared as to what might happen next.
“Joe said, ‘Relax Bo, relax. Please don’t hit me,’” Bowman said.
“I got real scared,” Staley added.
Here’s the full video of story via 49ers Webzone: