De’Zhaun Stribling takes Daejon Love’s No. 7 - Are 49ers players secretly embracing the fake NFL star story?

The Daejon Love story has found another surprising connection to the San Francisco 49ers.Rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling has changed his jersey number from No. 15 to No. 7 - and that happens to be the number associated with Love during his alleged impersonation of a 49ers player. Not just any player, but a wide receiver. The same story of Stribling- who’s also a wideout for the Niners.The coincidence was quickly noticed online after NFL Insider Ari Meirov reported the change, pushing fans to connect Stribling’s new number with one of the strangest stories currently surrounding the NFL.There is no evidence that Stribling switched as a tribute to Love. Players change jersey numbers for countless reasons. But the timing has unequivocally created an irrefutable question for NFL fans: why does it feel like Daejon Love’s fake player story is slowly becoming a trendsetter?De’Zhaun Stribling’s No. 7 change reignites Daejon Love controversyStribling’s jersey number change might usually be little more than an offseason footnote.Instead, No. 7 has suddenly become a reminder of Love’s bizarre connection to the San Francisco 49ers.According to federal prosecutors, Love allegedly created a false identity as a professional football player and used that persona as part of a scheme that allegedly defrauded over 26 women of approximately $1.3 million. The allegations have generated widespread attention because Love reportedly presented himself as an NFL organization.That is what makes the No. 7 connection sound so weird!Stribling is an actual San Francisco 49ers rookie competing for a roster spot. Love, according to prosecutors, allegedly built an entirely fictional NFL identity over four years.Two completely different stories have now collided around the same jersey number.Are NFL players secretly loving the Daejon Love story?The bigger question isn’t really whether Stribling supports Love. There is nothing publicly establishing that.Instead, the interesting part is how the Love story has become a social media phenomenon that even ordinary NFL developments can accidentally bring it back into the spotlight with a bang.Fans have turned the Daejon Love story into memes, jokes, and endless online commentary. Every unusual connection to the 49ers seems to offer another opportunity for the story to resurface and stay on the surface.That definitely does not mean NFL players are wholeheartedly supporting Love - or approving of the alleged scheme.If anything, the fascination seems to come from the sheer absurdity of someone allegedly constructing an entire fake professional football identity with unbelievable audacity.The league is filled with larger-than-life personalities, but pretending to be an NFL player while allegedly using that identity to deceive people takes sports fandom to an unimaginable level.Stribling’s number change simply gave cyberspace another entry into the Love story.Why Daejon Love’s fake NFL player story won’t go away?The Love controversy has all the spices of a viral sports story: the 49ers, a mysterious fake identity, alleged financial deception, fake romance, and now a never-heard-before jersey No. connection.But serious allegations shouldn’t get lost beneath the funny memes.Love has been accused by federal authorities of impersonating an NFL player and using that false identity to gain the trust of victims. Those are allegations, not proof of guilt, and the legal process will determine the outcome.On the other side, the 49ers have a very real rookie wide receiver wearing No. 7.Whether Stribling chose the number because of personal preference, availability, or any other ordinary reason, one thing is certain: cyberspace has already attached a whole new meaning to it.And that may be the strangest legacy of the Daejon Love saga - not that an alleged fake NFL player became part of football culture, but that his fictional identity continues finding its way into real NFL conversations. Even after his story seems to have faded into oblivion…Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.