Michael Strahan reminds fans “I was a footballer first!” after being criticized for skipping the GMA to cover sport

GOOD Morning America star Michael Strahan has shown off his athleticism in a new post on social media.

Michael, 51, took to Instagram to give fans a taste of how he played football in his prime.

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The image of the former NFL player posted to the platform showed him kneeling next to the couch he was most likely sitting on as if making a quick pass.

He looked over at Complex host Brendan Dunne, who was sitting on the couch, holding an invisible soccer ball.

Michael’s side profile showed that he appeared to have a serious expression on his face.

“Don’t forget that I was a football player first. Getting ready, LOLOL! @michaelstrahanbrand @complex,” he captioned the photo.

Fans were impressed that Michael was still flexible.

“Still in great shape,” praised one fan.

Another added: “No Doubt still got it!”

A third person signed: “It still appears to be under yoke.”

BACK TO REALITY

Michael returned to GMA after a two-week absence while his co-star Robin Roberts, 63, continues her hiatus from the show.

Robin recently revealed she was just days away from tying the knot with fiancée Amber Laign, 49.

But despite Robin’s continued absence, Michael and his co-star George Stephanopolous, 62, have finally returned to the presenter’s podium.

While Monday morning episodethe two returned to their hosting duties.

The duo broke the news alongside Robin’s current stand-in, Rebecca Jarvis.

Michael and George have been significantly absent for the past few weeks as they have been enjoying their free time picking up their daughters for their freshman year.

LUXURY VACATION

Michael and his girlfriend Kayla took their family and one of his fellow GMAs, Erielle Reshef, on a trip to the Bahamas.

The couple posed with friends on Instagram Picture when Kayla wore a long, yellow dress with spaghetti straps and a thigh-length slit.

Michael wore an all-white ensemble with shorts and a short-sleeved button-down shirt.

He swam in the water with his girlfriend and friends before they all took a picture.

Michael has also been away for the past week as he is dropping off his twin daughters for college.

Isabella, 18, is beginning her freshman year at the University of Southern California.

Just days earlier, Michael traveled to Durham, North Carolina to take his other daughter, Sophia, 18, to college.

She is a freshman at Duke University.

EMPTY NESTS

Meanwhile, George was absent from GMA for a similar reason.

Last week, the political commentator and his wife Ali Wentworth accompanied their youngest daughter Harper to her freshman year, officially making them empty nesters.

Ali posted a heartfelt photo of herself on Instagram walking with George while feeling sad that Harper had left the house.

The 58-year-old captioned her Instagram post, “We dropped our baby off at college. Everyone says, ‘She’s ready for takeoff’!”

“But… I don’t think I’m ready! I don’t want to stop cooking pasta with vodka sauce, picking up wet towels, and snuggling up to her familiar scent.”

She continued, “As Joni Mitchell once wrote, ‘The bed is too big, the frying pan too wide.’ I know our daughter will be fine. But man, it’s brutal on the parents. If you feel like it, please send me baked goods. I stay under my covers.”

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