Feely Flexes Mind, and His Thumbs, on Twitter

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Jay Feely is the family member who makes political arguments in 10-page e-mail messages. He is the student who asked professors questions he knew they could not answer. He is the teammate who talks health care in the ice tub.

Feely dispenses opinions the way vending machines do snacks — all day, with variety. He is the Jets’ titan of Twitter, a kicker who leads like a quarterback, a licensed stockbroker who parents, plays golf, prays, holds political aspirations, devours books, debates — and sends all that into cyberspace, no more than 140 characters at a time.

“He’s like the toned-down version of a defensive lineman, or a smaller version of Rex Ryan,” his teammate Kris Jenkins said, comparing Feely to the Jets’ coach. “If you came into the locker room, if you heard him talk, you would not know he’s a kicker.”

July 22, @jayfeely: Heres my issue with both our political parties right now. No one has the guts and ability to find the real answers and committ to them.

Feely comes from a family of intellectuals. One uncle is a leading scientist with a background in oceanography. One cousin is a doctor of internal medicine, another a genetic specialist.

Each summer, the family rents cabins in northern Minnesota, where they compete in seeded tennis tournaments, volleyball games and card championships in hearts. Each night, by the bonfire, three generations debate global warming, presidential candidates and abortion. Sometimes, the debates turn into arguments. Sometimes, they last until morning.

Feely researches for a month before these vacations, consuming information on topics he knows the family will discuss, searching for counterpoints and weaknesses.

“Jay is the most outspoken,” said John Feely, his younger brother. “He has a boxer’s mentality. He’s not trying to be argumentative. He wants to stand there and duke it out.”

Oct. 2, @jayfeely: H1N1 is so new we don’t know about the longterm effects of the vaccine. But I want to protect my children: a quandry

Feely’s postings on Twitter reflect the range and force of his personality. Football fans can glean the difference between massages (deep tissue painfully digs into injured areas), the reason he wears gloves (they aid in tackling) and his response to the boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s ribbing him at practice (“I’ll fight you if you give me half the purse”).

Parents can relate to his struggles with his 2-year-old (“call me dumb with a chance of insane”). Politicos know that he felt Congressman Joe Wilson was disrespectful to President Obama, that Mr. Obama had “egg all over” after Chicago’s failed Olympic bid, that the country’s character “is attacked by special interests, lobbyists, corrupt business, greedy attorneys, people without empathy.”

Feely has posted photographs of Jets quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Kellen Clemens in the ice tub at training camp. He has encouraged followers to urge their local congressmen to pass health care legislation. For Feely, Twitter serves a dual purpose: to inform and to, his words, effectuate change.

Feely jokes that most kickers are thoughtful because they have more time to research and read. He often buys 10 books at a time, the topics ranging from history and parenting to philosophy and sports.

“I try and be honest,” Feely said. “I’ve never worried about the ramifications.”

Sept. 23, @jayfeely: The punishment disparity between Vick, Stallworth and Plax is just preposterous.

Feely believes his outspoken nature cost him a job when Miami released him after a career season in 2007. That the Jets play the Miami Dolphins on Monday night carries extra meaning, because Feely wondered if he had killed his career with too many strong opinions.

“They didn’t envision that position as a leader,” Feely said. “I’ve always taken the opposite approach.”

Some who follow Jay Feely on Twitter appreciate his frankness and others remind him to “just kick the ball.”Credit...Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

The negativity that characterizes discourse in this country, the vitriol that dominates debate, bothers Feely. He says he wishes that athletes took more active positions on social issues, as Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and Arthur Ashe did.

He says he sympathizes with superstars who keep their opinions to themselves rather than risk losing marketing opportunities and money. But then he looks at some, like Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and the “generational impact” Tebow has on the lives of others.

Some followers love Feely for this honesty. Others instruct him to quiet down, reminding him to “just kick the ball.”

Sept. 29, @jayfeely: My brother lived 26 years as a severely disabled child and though he could never communicate his legacy left a lasting image on so many.

Some fans who meet Feely for the first time feel like they already know everything about him through his postings. One woman approached him at training camp and rattled off the names of his four children. That unnerved Feely, but for the most part, he said, his profile and use of the platform make him easier to relate to.

This week, Feely posted about his grandmother’s death. He has also written about his brother Michael, who lived with muscular dystrophy until age 26 despite doctors’ predictions he would die six months after his birth.

By discussing every aspect of his life, by charging down the field after kickoffs, Feely has endeared himself to teammates. Tight end Dustin Keller, a Twitter man himself, ranked Feely among the most respected players in the locker room. Jenkins said the Jets looked to him for leadership.

His uncle Dick Feely said: “I don’t think it’s any accident that he’s been a leader on any team he’s every played on. He shows leadership not just from his athletic prowess, but from his outgoing personality, and his genuine concern for everyone on the team.”

Aug. 14, @jayfeely: For those of you who are so condemning to Mike Vick; take a look at your own life and think about if your darkest secrets were left bare

Vick’s return to the N.F.L. marked the first time Feely experienced what he calls “real dialogue” on Twitter. He wrote a post and titled it “the precarious case of Mike Vick,” his former teammate in Atlanta.

Feely did not condone Vick’s actions, but he advocated for a second chance, and this sparked dozens of responses. Feely said his stance stemmed from a conversation at a January dinner with former President Bill Clinton, who told Feely “a man should not be defined by his greatest mistake.”

Feely never allowed his worst moment to define him, despite the three field goals he missed in 2005 against Seattle, a brutal performance that led to a skit on “Saturday Night Live.” Feely has given speeches since his college days at Michigan. Each time, without fail, he brings up the skit, or even plays it for the audience.

“In our country, we don’t talk about that,” Feely said. “The only way to move past failures, mistakes, is by not hiding from them, but embracing them.”

Sept. 30, @jayfeely: Watching H’wood denounce arrest Polanski arrest. Do they make the same defense for Catholic priests who assaulted altar boys?

Feely is the student who asked his English teacher to serve as his best man. He is a debater whom family members call the General because he always takes charge. He is the teammate rookies seek out for advice.

“Jay is usually at the epicenter of it all,” his brother John said.

Feely says this will help him after football, help him write a book, or go into television, help him eventually take his platforms into politics.

Until then, @jayfeely will dispense his opinions into cyberspace. Feel free to disagree. But be prepared for his response.