In the absence of real live sports, The New York Post is desperately grasping for anything remotely having something to do with sports and athletes to fill up space. They're so desperate, in fact, that Wednesday's and Thursday's editions featured women's MMA fighter Paige VanZant and her husband doing some raw cooking and working out at home. Naked.
"Paige VanZant [appearing in above photo] is now cooking naked with husband on Instagram," writes The Post's Jaclyn Hendricks in Thursday's headline, as if this were some kind of actual sports event. As if this was newsworthy. This athlete's home romp in the buff was going to get attention on social media with or without The Post, which obviously went along for the ride ... and cheap internet clicks.
A photo displays exhibitionist VanZant leaning against a kitchen counter, partly covered by an apron and a mixing bowl while her husband hides his privates behind a recipe book. His nose is actually covered up, though — in cooking powder. It's unknown who took the photo, but VanZant posted it on Instagram.
Hendricks sensationalizes with puns on buns:
"Buns are on the menu at Paige VanZant’s.
"On Wednesday, the UFC knockout and husband Austin Vanderford continued their naked escapades at home, showcasing their kitchen skills this time.
“ 'Uh, are we doing this right??' VanZant captioned the cheeky shot on Instagram."
Hendricks reports that earlier this week, the immodest, clothing-challenged couple worked out in their weight room, the garage, once again in their birthday suits. That's one way of cutting down on sweaty, stinky laundry!
VanZant's Instagram photo shows her sitting on an exercise ball hiding her bottom, as Vandeford does chin-ups with a punching bag covering his bum.
Hendricks' Wednesday story is headlined "UFC star Paige VanZant can’t stop getting naked on Instagram". And The New York Post can't get enough of this raw sensationalism. This is just the kind questionable media behavior that The Post's more conservative sports columnist Phil Mushnick frequently complains about.
"Paige VanZant left little to the imagination with her latest home workout," Hendricks notes.
"On Tuesday, the 26-year-old UFC star gave fans a peek at her exercise routine, doing sit-ups naked while husband Austin Vanderford did pull-ups in his birthday suit. Unsurprisingly, VanZant’s Instagram followers had plenty to say."
Ever committed to the nude-athletes-up-close-and-personal beat, Hendricks reports: "This isn’t the first time VanZant has stripped down for fans. In February, she and Vanderford participated in a Q&A while bathing together." The Post was right on top of that hard news story as well.
The Post's hard-hitting journalists also report that "VanZant sent fans into meltdown earlier this month as she posed in a saucy photo shoot for Sports Illustrated magazine." She cleaned up at the bank on that photo shoot, then did the more recent naked shots pro bono on IG.