49ers Star Jimmy G: 'My Life Off The Field Is Under A Microscope'
SANTA CLARA (CBS SF) -- Moments into San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's first press conference of the preseason, the question came up.
Was he surprised by the social media buzz over his date with Kiara Mia, who has gained fame by staring in adult movies? The dinner at Beverly Hills' Avra restaurant made front page news on TMZ and triggered an avalanche of tweets of Twitter.
"Life is different for me now," he told reporters. "My life off the field is under a microscope. I've never really been big on being very public with things even on social media...It is a good learning experience. I just have to take it in stride. It is what it is."
During his meeting with reporters, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan also quickly moved on from a question about the date.
"I've never in my life commented on a player's date in July, so I'm not going to start today," he said. "I don't think it really pertains or matters to us."
When asked how he spent his free time during the off-season, Garoppolo said he was in Chicago with his family and also spent time looking for a new house in the red-hot Bay Area real estate market.
"That was exciting," he said of house shopping. "I got to learn the area a little more."
Garoppolo reignited 49ers fans hopes late last season after he was traded from the New England Patriots to San Francisco. At the time, the once proud 49ers franchise was in the midst of a dismal season and a cellar-dweller.
He led San Francisco to five straight wins to end the season and comes into this year carrying the high hopes of San Francisco fans. But he knows there is plenty of work ahead.
"It was a good end of the season, but it sounds very cliche, but it's a new year," Garoppolo said. "We have new players. Every team is different around the league. You start from the ground up. I think we started with that in OTA (early training camp) and got a good jump on it and now training camp is here -- we have to take it one day at a time."
