Seems like this story comes up once per year.

A Philly team goes through a bad run of play, fans become frustrated and/or boo, and then a player sends some kind of defiant counter-message, telling fans to fall in line, or “stay on that side,” like Ben Simmons did after the game one Brooklyn loss two years ago. Usually it turns out fine, and in Simmons’ case he came out with a triple-double in a game two win before dropping 31 on the Nets in a game three road win.

This year it’s Miles Sanders, who told Eagles fans what they need to do, via Instagram:

Don’t worry man, you’ve got the fans’ support. They’re bothered by the 0-2-1 start, but this city has unconditionally supported its teams through many dog shit seasons, long before you got here. That passion manifests itself in frustration, and if you were drafted by another team instead, the reaction might be apathy, which is much worse.

I had more words lined up on this topic, but Glen Macnow said it best on Twitter, so I’ll defer to him:

More Glen:

“Sanders is far from the first player here to confuse criticism of the team’s poor play with lack of fan support. Hey Miles, this isn’t college anymore. And you can’t win this fight. Don’t start it.”

Can’t say it much better than that. Case closed.