Paul Warfield was my favorite Browns player growing up.

It’s more than that he was really good — after all, the wide receiver for Warren Harding High School and Ohio State is in the Pro Foitball Hall of Fame — but what struck me much more about him was how classy he was, both on and off the field.

He ran effortlessly, with a style and grace than was unmatched. It seemed like you were watching an orchestra performing, with each instrument fitting in perfectly. He looks like a gazelle out there, he was that good.

And off the field, he spoke softly and intelligently and in complete sentences. It was like a college professor teaching football and receiving.

Intelligent? Oh, yeah, he not just sounded like it, but he was in fact.

I say all this because during the Sunday NightFootball game against visiting Dallas a few days ago, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, after catching a touchdown pass, pulled up the front of his jersey to reveal a shirt that had this message, “F- – – the Cowboys.” The F-word was spelled out completely.

I don’t want to sound like a prude, because I am not, but a lot of kids saw that message. And while they all know what the F-word means, did they really need to see it used so frivolously — and with such a disdain for class and decorum —from one of the star athletes they follow.? I think not.

Compare that to the way, Warfield reacted when he scored a touchdown, just tossing the ball to the official in trading off the field, and you can clearly see the difference.

Certainly, I absolutely understand that this is 2023 and not 1967, but class never goes out of style.

Yes, the NFL has a lot of entertainers right now, and that is as it should be, because football, especially the pro variety, is entertainment. So have at it, guys, with a few moderations, please.

What the game desperately needs now, though, are some guys who have a little class. I guess you could say the game needs a lot of Paul Warfield right now.

Steve King